—  OF  — 

Hapfisf  iortal  Snians, 

HELD   AT  THE 

\ 

Athenaeum,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


December  gth  and  ioth,  1874. 


Avery  Arc  hitectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


CONVENTION 

OF 

BAPTIST  SOCIAL  UNIONS 


AT  THE  ATHEN£UM, 


BROOKLYN  N.  Y. 


December  9TH  and  ioth,  1874. 


New  York: 

L.  H.  Biglow  &  Company,  Printers  and  Stationers,  No.  13  William  Street. 

1875. 


.CC 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/conventionofbaptOOdurs 


PRELIMINARY. 


At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social 

Union,  held  May  19th,  1874,  the  following  resolution  offered  by 
Mr.  Churchill  H.  Cutting,  was  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  is  requested  to  correspond 
with  the  officers  of  the  several  Baptist  Social  Unions  of  the 
country,  suggesting  a  meeting  in  this  city  of  delegates  from  such 
Unions,  for  conference  on  questions  which  may  be  of  interest  to 
the  Unions  themselves  and  to  the  denomination,  and  especially 
with  reference  to  the  present  duties  of  the  denomination  in 
respect  to  education. 

In  accordance  with  this  resolution  the  following  circular 
letter  was  addressed  to  the  several  Social  Unions  : 

Brooklyn,  July  6th,  1874. 

It  was  a  happy  suggestion  which  brought  together  the  first  Baptist 
Social  Union,  for  the  forming  and  maintaining  of  Christian  acquaintanceship 
among  brethren  of  the  same  faith  and  sympathies,  and  for  consultation  on 
matters  of  local  and  general  interest  to  the  Baptist  denomination.  It  was  a 
happy  circumstance  that  the  good  example  of  our  Boston  brethren  was  follow- 
ed in  other  localities,  and  our  common  pride  and  joy  that  there  is  now  a  con- 
siderable number  of  such  Unions  spread  over  a  wide  extent  of  our  country. 

Keeping  still  distinctly  in  mind  that  the  object  of  these  Unions  is  to  pro- 
mote acquaintance  and  fellowship,  and  to  receive  and  profit  by  information 
and  suggestions  with  reference  to  denominational  progress,  the  question  arises 
whether  any  further  measures  can  be  taken  for  the  promotion  of  these  ends. 
If  the  acquaintance  and  fellowship  of  brethren  in  restricted  localities  are  de- 
sirable, why  are  not  a  wider  acquaintance  and  a  wider  fellowship  equally  de- 
sirable ?  If  information  and  suggestions  in  respect  to  matters  of  interest  in 
such  localities  are  important,  why  are  not  such  information  and  suggestions 
important,  when  bearing  on  topics  which  concern  equally  the  whole  Baptist 
family  ?  These  questions  suggest  their  own  answers,  and  they  prompt  the 
further  inquiry  whether  the  full  measure  of  the  usefulness  of  our  Social  Un- 
ions has  been  reached,  and  whether  that  inquiry  might  not  attain  a  solution  by 
the  union  of  counsels? 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  not  very  creditable  to  us  Laymen,  and  not  the  fault 
of  our  Ministers,  that  in  a  denomination  whose  cardinal  principles  establish 


4 


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» 

X 


the  equality  of  all  Christian  brethren,  and  rest  the  claims  of  the  ministerial 
office  to  consideration  and  reverence,  on  character  and  good  \yorks,  we  have 
fallen  into  the  habit  of  leaving  our  denominational  affairs  almost  exclusively 
in  the  hands  of  our  respected  and  honored  pastors.  To  a  limited  extent  only 
do  our  Laymen  attend  our  great  denominational  gatherings,  or  share  in  the 
counsels  in  which  our  great  movements  are  originated  and  carried  on.  Our 
Social  Unions  are  a  first  step  towards  the  correction  of  a  habit  to  be  lamented. 
Perhaps  a  further  use  of  these  Unions  might  serve  still  further  to  bring  our  lay 
brethren  into  greater  prominence  in  the  grave  and  responsible  methods  of  our 
denominational  activity  and  progress. 

Moved  by  these  considerations,  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union 
takes  the  liberty  of  suggesting  a  meeting  of  delegates  from  the  several  Social 
Unions  in  the  country,  to  be  held  in  the  month  of  December  next.  This  Union 
will  take  great  pleasure  in  tendering  hospitality  to  such  a  meeting,  and  will 
make  the  necessary  preparations  for  its  convenience  and  efficiency.  It  would 
suggest  a  meeting  of  two  evenings  and  the  intervening  day.  Thankful  to  any 
Social  Union  for  suggestions  as  to  topics  for  consideration,  it  would  itself  sug- 
gest that  these  topics  should  em  brace,  first,  the  composition,  spheres  and  meth- 
ods of  Social  Unions  themselves,  and  second,  those  great  interests  which  con- 
cern the  power  and  progress  of  the  denomination  in  the  various  departments 
of  evangelization  and  education.  The  invited  guests  would  therefore  naturally 
and  necessarily  be  the  representatives  of  our  great  societies  and  the  chief  rep- 
resentatives of  our  educational  institutions.  In  brief  and  pertinent  addresses 
from  many  and  various  sources,  there  might  be  gathered  a  large  amount  of 
useful  information  and  suggestion. 

And,  finally,  on  the  second  evening  there  might  be  a  great  denominational 
re-union,  combining  social  and  public  demonstrations,  to  be  alike  a  high 
Christian  privilege,  and  an  incitement  to  higher  Christian  service. 

We  beg  to  offer  these  suggestions  to  the  help  of  your  prayers  and  your 
counsels.  If  you  shall  approve,  we  ask  you  to  appoint  delegates,  assuring 
the  attendance  of  at  least  three  of  your  number. 

Please  inform  us  as  early  as  practicable  of  your  decision,  and  when  we 
have  received  a  favorable  response  from  a  number  of  our  Unions  sufficient  to 
justify  the  measure,  we  will  issue  the  necessary  invitations. 

In  behalf  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union, 

H.  E.  WHEELER,  Secretary. 

During  the  summer  vacation,  many  of  the  Social  Unions 
did  not  meet ;  but  early  in  October  responses  were  received  from 
a  sufficient  number  of  the  Unions,  cordially  approving  of  the 
proposed  convention,  to  warrant  preparation  for  it.  According- 
ly, at  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Un- 
ion, held  on  the  15th  October,  the  recommendation  of  the  Ex- 
ecutiYe  Board,  that  the  convention  be  held  on  the  9th  and  10th 
of  December  following,  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  the 
whole  matter  referred  (with  power)  to  the  Executive  Board,  and 
a  committee  of  arrangements,  consisting  of  Messrs.  A.  B.  Cap- 
well,  H.  E.  Wheeler,  C.  H.  Cutting,  and  J.  P.  Douglass. 


Baptist  Social  Unions.  5 

LIST  OF  DELEGATES 


TO  THE 

CONVENTION  OF  BAPTIST  SOCIAL  UNIONS. 


Hon.  Francis  Wayland, 

.Conn.  Baptist  Social  Union,.  . 

.New  Haven,  Conn 

Jas.  L.  Howard,  

do. 

.  Hartford,  Conn. 

.Rhode  Island  Social  Union,. 

.Providence,  R,  I. 

Prof.  Benj.  F.  Clarke,  . . 

do. 

do. 

J.  C.  Hartshorn e,  

do. 

do. 

Ansel  D.  Nickerson, 

do. 

.Pawtucket,  R.  I. 

George  Lovis,  

.Boston  Bap.  Social  Union, .  . 

.  Dedham,  Mass. 

H.  S.  Chase,  

do. 

.Boston,  Mass. 

:  do. 

do. 

Timothy  Merrick,  

.Soc.  Union  of  West'n  Mass.. . 

D.  H.  Brigham,  

do. 

.Springfield,  Mass. 

J.  H.  Walker,  

.Worcester  Bap.  Soc.  Union,. 

.Worcester,  Mass. 

do. 

do. 

Rev.  Henry  S.  Burrage, 

.Western  Maine  Soc.  Union,.. 

.Portland,  Maine. 

John  Hamilton,  Jr.,... 

.Western  N.  Y.  Soc.  Union,. . 

.  Fredonia,  N.  Y. 

B.  Griffiths,  D.  D.,  .... 

.Philadelphia  Social  Union,.  . 

.Philadelphia,  Pen 

do. 

do. 

Hon.  Horatio  Gates  Jones,  do. 

do. 

Prest.  Jas.  C.  Welling,  LL.D.,  Washington  Soc.  Union, 

.Washington,  D.  C 

Rev.  J.  W.  Parker,  D.D., 

do. 

do. 

W.  W.  Evarts,  D.D.,. 

.Chicago  Baptist  Soc.  Union,. 

.Chicago,  Illinois. 

Lemuel  Moss,  D.D., 

•  do. 

do. 

T.  J.  Morgan,  D.D., . 

do. 

do. 

W.  W.  Huntington, 

.Minneapolis  Social  Union,.. 

.Minneapolis. 

E.  B.  Galusha,  

do. 

do. 

Nathan  Bishop,  LL.  D.,. 

.Manhattan  Social  Union, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  Geo.  H.  Andrews,. 

do. 

do. 

I  no.  P.  Townsend,  

do. 

do. 

O.  D.  Baldwin,  

do. 

do. 

do. 

.Elizabeth. 

do. 

.New  York,  N.  Y. 

do. 

do. 

J.  B.  Colgate,  

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

George  Tuthill,  

do. 

do. 

D.  C.  Hays,  

do. 

do. 

J.  H.  Deane,  

do. 

do. 

By  a  resolution  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union, 
all  its  members  were  requested  to  sit  with  the  Delegates. 


6  Proceedings  of  Convention 

INVITED  GUESTS. 


NAME.  RESIDENCE. 

Rev.  C.  W.  Anable,  D.  D   North  Adams,  Mass. 

Martin  B.  Anderson,  LL.D.,Pres't  Univ'y  of  Rochester,.  .Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Galusha  Anderson,  D.  D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Thomas  Armitage,  D.  D.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Jay  S.  Backus,  D.  D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  John  F.  Bigelow,  D.  D.,   do. 

Prof.  George  N.  Bigelow,   do. 

Prof.  Geo.  R.  Bliss,  Crozer  Theo'l  Seminary,  Upland,  Penn. 

Rev.  Jas.  P.  Boyce,  D.  D.,  .  .Bap.  Theo'l  Seminary  Louisville,  Ky. 

Rev.  Edward  Bright,  D.D..  Ed.  Examiner  &  Chronicle,  .New  York  City. 

Hon.  Wm.  Bucknell,  Philadelphia. 

Gardner  R.  Colby,  Orange,  N.  J. 

Samuel  Colgate,   do. 

Isaac  Cole,  D.  D.,  Westminster,  Md. 

Charles  Coleman,  East  New  York. 

W.  \V.  Cooke,  Whitehall,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  S.  S.  Cutting,  D.  D.,  Brooklyn. 

Hon.  Geo.  Dawson,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  John  Eaton,  Commissioner  of  Education,  .Washington,  D.  C. 

Rev.  Henry  C.  Fish,  D,D.,  Newark,  N.  T- 

Rev.  J.  N.  Folwell,  Brooklyn. 

Prof.  Norman  Fox,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Justin  D.  Fulton,  D.D  Brooklyn. 

Hon.  Wm.  Gaston.  Governor  of  Massachusetts, .  Boston,  Mass. 

George  Gault,    Orange,  N.  J. 

C.  Griffin,  New  Jersey. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Grimmell,  Brooklyn. 

Hon.  P.  E.  Havens  Essex,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  J.  Hendrick,  Havana,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  E.  T.  Hiscox,  D.  D  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  D.  C.  Hughes,   do. 

Hon.  John  W.  Hunter.  .  .  .  .Mayor  of  Brooklyn   do. 

W.  B.  Jacobs,   do. 

Rev.  Reuben  Jeffrey,  D.  D.,   do. 

Rev.  D.  C.  Litchfield,   do. 

Rev.  R.  S.  MacArthur,  New  York. 

Rev.  David  Moore,  D.  D.,  Brooklyn. 

II.  T.  Mulford  Pres't  Trust.  So.  Jersey  Inst., .  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 

Rev.  J.  N.  Murdock,  D.D.,  .Secy  Am.  Bap.  Mis.  Union, . Boston,  Mass. 
Rev.  J.  W.  OLMSTEAD,  D.D.,  Ed.  Watchman  &  Reflector,  .  do. 
Rev.  A.  S.  Patton,  D.D.,  . .  .Editor  Baptist  Weekly  New  York. 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


7 


H.  A.  Pratt,  President  Peddie  Institute,.  .Hightstown,  N.  J. 

J.  H.  Raymond,  LL.D  Prest.  Vassar  College,  Poughkeepsie,  N.Y. 

James  D.  Reid,  New  York. 

Rev.  Christopher  Rhodes,  Brooklyn. 

W.  F.  Richardson,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Thomas  L.  Rogers,  Editor  Christian  Era  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.E.G. Robinson, DD.LLD.Pres't  Brown  University, .  .  .  .Providence,  R.  I. 

William  N.  Sage,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Smith  Sheldon,  New  York  City. 

Rev.  J  as.  B.  Simmons,  D.  D  Brooklyn. 

Rev.  C.  E.  Smith,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Rev.  L.  E.  Smith,  D.D.,  .  .  .  .Examiner  &  Chronicle,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Prof.  O.  S.  Stearns,  D.  D...  .Newton  Theo'l  Institute,.  .  .  .Newton  Centre,  Ms. 

Rev.  H.  K.  Stimson,  Kansas. 

Rev.  A.  H.  Strong,  D.D.,  .  .Rochester  Theo'l  Seminary.  .Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Hon.  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  .  .  .  .Governor  of  New  York,  .  .  .  .New  York. 

H.  K.  Trask,  Principal  So.  Jersey  Inst  Bridgeton,  N.J. 

Rev.  J  as.  Waters,  New  York. 

Rev.  H.  L.  Waylaxd,  D.D.,  Editor  National  Baptist,  .  .  .  .Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Rev.  Wm.  N.  Wilbur,.  .....  .Vermont  Academy,  Saxton's  River,  Vt. 

H.  B.  Wiggin,  Orange,  N.J. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONVENTION. 


DECEMBER  gth,  1874. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  8  P.  M.,  by 
Mr.  A.  B.  Capwell,  of  Brooklyn,  and  upon  his  motion 
the  Hon.  Francis  Wayland,  of  New  Haven,  was 
elected  President,  and  conducted  to  his  seat  by  the  Hon. 
Horatio  Gates  Jones,  of  Pennsylvania  and  Mr.  S.  S. 
Constant,  of  New  York. 

The  President  upon  taking  his  seat,  made  a  brief 
speech  in  acknowledgment  of  the  honor  conferred  upon 
him. 

Upon  motion,  Mr.  J.  F.  Wyckoff,  of  New  York, 
was  elected  Secretary. 

The  President  then  announced  that  the  address  of  the 
evening  would  be  delivered  by  Martin  B.  Anderson, 
LL.  D.,  President  of  the  University  of  Rochester,  upon 

"The  Laymen  of  the  Baptist  Church." 

Mr.  Chairman — By  your  programme  I  see  that  I  am  ex- 
pected to  say  a  few  words  to-night  concerning  the  Laymen  of 
the  Baptist  Denomination.  With  your  permission  I  will  change 
a  word  in  that  programme,  and  speak  of  the  Laity  of  the  Bap- 
tist Denomination,  using  the  word  laity  as  a  general  term,  in- 
cluding the  whole  body  of  the  spiritual  elements  of  the  Christ- 
ian Church  exclusive  of  the  ministry. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution,  when  the  States 
General  was  about  to  commence  its  Session,  the  Third  Estate, 
which  had  been  accustomed  in  former  centuries  to  occupy  a 


IO 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


separate  house  apart  from  the  nobility  and  clergy,  asserted  its 
right  to  sit  in  the  same  building,  and  to  form  a  constituent  part 
of  the  body,  having  common  privileges  with  the  other  two 
orders.  Relatively  to  this  controversy,  the  celebrated  Abbe 
Sieyes  Avrote  a  remarkable  pamphlet,  entitled  "  What  is  the 
Third  Estate  ?"  The  point  of  his  answer  was,  "  It  is  the  French 
nation,  minus  the  nobility  and  clergy."  So  I  say  in  regard  to 
the  laity  of  the  Baptist  Denomination.  It  is,  generally  speak- 
ing, the  whole  body  of  men  and  women  in  our  churches,  minus 
the  clergy.  When  I  speak  of  the  laity  of  our  body  I  do  not 
consider  them  a  class  apart  from  the  ministry — for  we  are  all 
brethren,  sons  and  daughters  of  one  common  father;  united 
to  each  other  by  virtue  of  our  antecedent  union  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  In  the  language  of  scripture,  as  spiritual  mem- 
bers of  a  Christian  church,  we  all  of  us  claim  to  be  "kings  and 
priests  unto  God," — kings  with  a  right  to  take  part  in  the  func- 
tions of  government;  and  priests  in  the  New  Testament  sense 
of  that  term,  with  the  right  to  teach  and  pjopagate  religion,  and 
to  bless  mankind  by  extending  its  influence. 

We  have,  however,  those  who  are  specially  set  apart  for  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  for  administering  the  ordinances 
of  Christianity.  These  we  call,  collectively,  the  ministry. 
Those  who  are  not  thus  set  apart  for  continuous  labor  in 
preaching  and  pastoral  care,  we  call  the  laity.  The  laity  and 
clergy  then  are  co-ordinate  members  of  a  common  body  de- 
signed to  be  mutually  limiting  and  controlling  forces,  and  both 
alike  are  required  by  the  Almighty  to  co-operate  in  bringing 
out  the  best  possible  results  in  the  salvation  of  men. 

We  believe  it  to  be  wrong  to  separate,  by  any  broad  line  of 
distinction,  the  clerical  from  the  lay  order.  The  road  which 
leads  from  one  class  to  the  other  ought  always  to  be  open.  For 
many  may  believe  themselves  called  to  preach  the  gospel  who 
will  afterwards  find  that  God  has  not  called  any  congregation 
to  hear  them.  The  way  should  be  open  for  them  to  drop  back 
with  untarnished  reputation  into  the  lay  body,  and  do  their 
Christian  work  therein.  We  believe,  also,  that  any  layman  who 
finds  himself  endowed  with  the  gifts  of  thought  and  utterance, 
accompanied  by  a  burning  desire  to  preach  to  his  fellow  men, 
may  be,  at  any  time  in  his  life,  set  apart  and  ordained  to  the 
work  of  the  pastor  or  evangelist.  Teacher  as  I  am  by  profes- 
sion, I  hope  the  cime  \\ \\  never  come  when  the  ministry  shall 
cease  to  be  recruited  from  men  of  mature  years  in  the  ranks  ot 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


the  laity.  Men  with  business  habits  and  business  common 
sense,  whose  hearts  are  filled  with  the  love  of  Christ, — men 
who  have  developed  their  natural  powers  of  thought  and  expres- 
sion in  the  Sunday-School  and  the  Prayer-Meeting,  frequently 
make  most  healthy  and  efficient  additions  to  the  clerical  body. 
Such  men,  when  they  are  sound  in  the  faith,  and  have  sufficient 
education  to  preach  the  gospel  with  power  and  clearness,  should 
never,  from  the  lack  of  professional  training,  be  shut  out  from 
the  ministry.  The  drawing  of  a  sharp  line  of  distinction  be- 
tween the  clergy  and  laity  is  fraught  with  evil,  and  has  been  so 
from  the  beginning.  It  was  the  germ  of  the  first  serious 
apostacy  from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel. 

During  the  time  of  persecution  large  amounts  of  property, 
from  weekly  gifts  and  permanent  endowments,  were  put  into 
the  hands  of  the  clergy  for  the  support  of  the  suffering  poor. 
That  these  funds  should  be  raised  was  a  matter  of  necessity, 
but  their  administration  and  control  should  have  remained  in 
the  hands  of  a  joint  body  of  clergy  and  laity.  Unfortunately 
for  Christianity,  however,  this  control  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  clerical  body  alone.  When  persecution  ceased  and  Christ- 
ianity became  a  State  religion,  this  property  increased  immense- 
ly in  amount.  The  clergy,  having  by  custom  and  prescription 
the  control  of  all  property,  and  being  compactly  organized  as 
a  separate  order,  soon  became  entirely  independent  of  the  body 
of  believers.  They  claimed  for  themselves  to  constitute  the 
church,  for  all  purposes  involving  the  settlement  of  doctrine, 
modes  of  worship,  and  the  exercise  of  power  in  discipline  and 
administration.  We  believe  that  this  separation  of  the  clergy 
from  the  laity,  and  the  assumption  by  the  clergy  of  all  those 
rights  and  privileges  which  were  the  joint  property  of  both, 
were  the  main  elements  of  corruption,  in  the  early  church. 
This  principle  finds  illustration  all  along  the  track  of  Ecclesi- 
astical History,  from  the  time  of  Cyprian,  when  the  hierarchical 
system  first  began  to  receive  its  distinct  form,  down  to  the  late 
Vatican  Council.  The  health  and  efficiency  of  the  general 
Christian  body  have  always  suffered,  just  in  proportion  as  this 
line  of  distinction  has  been  marked  and  stringent.  The  clergy 
and  the  laity  are  co-ordinate  and  constituent  elements  of  the 
visible  body  of  Christ.  These  elements  should  always  inter- 
penetrate, act,  and  react  upon  each  other.  They  should  be  joined 
together  in  organization,  in  sympathy,  and  in  work.  They 
should  be  mutual  checks  and  balances,  among  the  forces  of 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


Christ's  Kingdom.  This  is  God's  law,  and  "  What  God  has 
joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder."  As  a  denomination, 
we  need  strenuously  to  guard  against  that  distinction  between 
the  ministry  and  the  laity  which  shall  lead  the  laity  to  assume 
that  all  religious  work  is  to  be  done  by  proxy — handed  over  to 
a  professional  class. 

It  is  possible  that  there  may  be  danger  from  the  growth 
among  us  of  what  may  be  called  professionalism  in  the  clerical 
body — the  idea  that  all  guidance,  leadership,  settlement  of  doc- 
trinal beliefs,  and  church  practices  are  to  be  restricted  to  those 
who  have  received  special  professional  training.  It  is  certainly 
the  business  of  the  ministry  to  give  doctrinal  and  moral  instruc- 
tions ;  but  these  have  divine  authority  only  so  far  as  they  are 
shown  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  Revelation.  It  is 
the  duty  of  the  laity  to  repudiate,  and  set  aside,  all  clerical 
teaching  not  thus  sanctioned. 

The  right  of  private  judgment  secures  the  privilege  to  the 
laity  of  comparing  for  themselves  the  instructions  of  the  pulpit 
with  the  teachings  of  God's  word.  Our  ministry  is  not  a  spe- 
cial priesthood,  to  mediate  between  God  and  man,  nor  has  it, 
either  individually  or  collectively,  the  right  to  speak  for  the 
body  of  the  faithful,  without  the  consent  and  co-ordinate  ac- 
tion of  the  membership  of  the  churches  at  large.  The  idea  of 
an  authoritative  priesthood  assuming  the  power  and  dignity 
belonging  to  the  whole  Christian  body  lies  at  the  basis  of  the 
entire  system  of  the  Canon  Law,  through  which,  and  out  of 
which,  the  Papacy  was  developed.  The  fundamental  idea  of 
the  Canon  Law  is,  the  recognition  of  the  priesthood,  as  the  sole 
medium  for  conducting  spiritual  blessings  to  the  hearts  of  men, 
as  controlling  the  gifts  of  divine  grace,  as  having  power  to  re- 
peat the  great  sacrifice  made  once  for  all,  and  direct  its  benefits 
according  to  their  own  pleasure. 

This  system  has  left  its  impress  on  every  government  ot 
Europe.  It  was  incorporated  into  the  whole  theory  of  Medi- 
aeval missions.  Those  who  converted  the  barbarians  to  Chris- 
tianity went  among  them  as  priests,  remained  as  priests,  with 
functions  apart  from  the  great  body  of  believers,  assuming  au- 
thority to  control  the  laity  in  all  spiritual  matters  without  ap- 
peal. Whenever,  during  the  Mediaeval  period,  anything  like  a 
revival  of  religion  took  place  among  the  laity,  it  was  immedi- 
ately seized  hold  of  by  the  clergy,  and  the  subjects  of  it  were 
organized  into  a  religious  order,  put  under  the  control  of  a 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


13 


general  or  superior,  who  was  himself  under  subjection  to  the 
authorities  at  Rome.  If  the  members  of  those  orders  were  at 
first  laymen,  they  were  made  subservient  to  the  increase  of 
power  and  dignity  in  the  clerical  order;  and  ultimately  came 
to  be  an  army  of  propagandists,  helping  to  strengthen  the  pow- 
er of  the  hierarchy  over  all  Europe.  In  our  own  time  the  growth 
in  the  English  Church,  of  what  was  at  first  called  Puseyism, 
and  which  of  late  has  taken  the  name  of  Ritualism,  had  its 
origin  in  the  disposition  to  increase  the  dignity  and  power  of 
the  clerical  order,  and  to  assume  for  it  the  authority  of  a  special 
priesthood,  constituting  the  only  channel  through  which  the 
blessings  of  God  should  flow  to  man,  and  authorized  to  legis- 
late for  the  lay  conscience  in  all  matters  of  doctrine  and  practice. 

The  same  leaven  is  working  in  the  High  Church  party  of 
the  Lutherans  in  Germany.  We  saw  it  cropping  out  a  few 
weeks  ago  in  the  discussion  on  the  confirmation  of  a  Protestant 
bishop  in  our  own  country.  Fortunately,  as  it  seems  to  us,  lay 
representation  is  permitted  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  ;  and  it  was  this  lay  element  which  brought 
the  late  Convention  to  put  its  mark  of  reprobation  upon  Ritu- 
alism, by  refusing  to  confirm  the  election  of  Dr.  Seymour  to 
the  bishopric  of  Illinois.  The  analysis  of  the  votes  at  that  Con- 
vention shows,  that  the  clerical  portion  of  the  Convention  would 
have  confirmed  Dr.  Seymour  in  the  office ;  but  that  the  lay 
votes  saved  that  able  and  dignified  body  from  a  course  of  action, 
which  could  not  have  failed  to  be  prejudicial  to  our  common 
Protestantism. 

In  England  the  power  of  the  Ritualistic  movement,  which 
has  furnished  so  many  recruits  for  the  Church  of  Rome,  has 
not  been  limited  or  controlled  by  lay  representation  in  convo- 
cation, but  by  the  simple  fact  that  ecclesiastical  questions  are 
decided  not  by  clerical,  but  by  a  lay  court.  Within  a  short  time 
the  lay  judgment  and  conscience  has  expressed  itself  also 
through  an  act  of  Parliament  in  strict  condemnation  of  the 
movement.  Among  the  Non-Conformists  of  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  the  influence  of  the  laity  was  distinctly 
manifest,  and  almost  always  for  good.  It  was  the  rank-and-file 
of  our  Baptist  Churches,  plain  men  and  women  who  feared 
God  more  than  they  feared  either  man  or  devil,  that  stood  up  for 
the  truth  against  the  persecuting  spirit  of  the  English  Establish- 
ment. Men  such  as  these  formed  those  churches,  which  held 
meetings  in  barns  and  forests,  shifting  their  places  of  worship 


14  Proceedings  of  Convention 


from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  to  escape  their  persecutors.  Many  of 
the  Non-Conformist  clergy  of  that  period  cherished  an  ill-con- 
cealed longing  for  the  church  which  they  had  left.  Such  excel- 
lent men  as  Bates,  and  Baxter,  and  Howe,  always  looked  for 
the  time,  when  concessions  would  be  made  which  would  enable 
them  to  resume  services  in  the  Establishment.  After  the  pass- 
ing of  the  Test  Act,  every  one  elected  to  office  was  obliged  to 
take  the  Communion  in  the  English  Church,  in  order  to  be 
qualified  to  discharge  official  duties,  and  enjoy  official  honors. 
The  Non-Conformists  had  separated  from  the  Establishment  on 
the  plea  of  conscience.  To  go  back  to  it — to  participate  in  one 
of  the  most  solemn  rites  of  our  religion  for  the  sake  of  the 
honors  and  emoluments  of  office,  was  an  admission  that  con- 
science, on  their  part,  was  conditioned  by  ambition  and  self-in- 
terest. As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  broke  the  power  of  the  Non-Con- 
formist protest.  For  the  ambitious  and  worldly  reasoned  thus: 
that  if  it  were  justifiable  to  conform  once  a  year  for  worldly 
ends,  the  same  reasons  would  justify  conformity  all  the  year 
round. 

Those  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  time,  will  remember 
the  curious  controversy  on  this  subject  between  John  Howe 
and  Daniel  DeFoe.  One  of  John  Howe's  congregation,  elect- 
ed Mayor  of  London,  went  to  the  English  Church  and  partook 
of  the  communion,  in  order  that  he  might  legally  hold  the  office. 
Howe  defended  the  act.  DeFoe  denounced  it.  He  said,  in 
substance,  that  by  taking  such  a  course  the  Mayor  was  false  at 
the  same  time  to  religion,  to  conscience  and  to  political  liberty. 
He  insisted  that,  if  it  was  right  for  a  Non  Conformist  to  unite 
with  the  English  Church  in  this  most  distinctive  church  ordin- 
ance, it  was  right  for  him  to  conform  in  all  other  particulars. 
If  lie  could  conform  once  a  year  for  the  sake  of  office,  the  prin- 
ciple was  yielded,  and  separation  from  the  Establishment  could 
not  be  justified  on  the  plea  of  conscience.  Howe  replied,  de- 
fending the  action  of  his  parishioner,  and  was  obliged,  in  the 
course,  of  his  argument,  to  take  up  the  defence  of  the  English 
Church  in  spite  of  its  alleged  errors  and  persecuting  tendencies. 
DeFoe  replied  "  Serve  God  or  Baal."  If  a  man  is  a  Christian, 
let  him  be  a  Christian.  If  he  is  a  Turk,  let  him  be  a  Turk  ;  but 
let  him  not  try  to  be  both  at  the  same  time.  If  you  secede  from 
the  English  Church  on  a  matter  of  conscience,  it  should  cover 
the  whole  year.  Either  separate  from  it  entirely,  and  give  vigor 
and  point  to  your  protest,  or  go  back  altogether  and  become 
loyal  members  of  the  Church  of  England. 


/ 


Baptist  Social  Unions.  15 

This  controversy  was  a  remarkable  one,  and  very  signifi- 
cant, as  it  regards  the  character  of  the  combatants.  My  impres- 
sion is,  that  DeFoe  was  right.  This  "  occasional  conformity  " 
broke  the  whole  power  of  the  Non-conformist  protest.  It  is  a 
historical  fact,  that  it  had  a  tendency  to  diminish  very  rapidly 
the  number  and  vigor  of  the  Non-conformist  body  The 
worldly-minded  and  ambitious  among  them  accepted  the  logi- 
cal significance  of  the  example  sanctioned  by  Howe,  and  went 
back  to  the  Establishment  in  numbers.  Those  who  loved  office, 
emoluments,  and  social  position,  more  than  they  did  principle, 
found  in  Howe's  pamphlet  an  argument,  not  only  for  occasion- 
al, but  for  perpetual  conformity. 

This  occasional  conformity,  defended  by  the  clergy  in  the 
person  of  John  Howe,  and  opposed  by  the  laity  in  the  person 
of  DeFoe,  teaches  us  an  instructive  lesson.  There  is  a  tenden- 
cy growing  up  among  certain  of  our  own  people  to  break  away 
from  the  time-honored  principles  and  practice  of  our  fathers,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  charge  of  exclusiveness  and  bigotry — forget- 
ting, that  the  frequency  and  ceverity  of  these  charges  is  the 
measure  of  the  effectiveness  of  our  protest  against  error.  We 
look  for  the  force  which  will  rebuke  this  tendency  to  the  Dan- 
iel DeFoe's  among  the  sober,  thoughtful,  and  clear-headed  laity 
of  our  denomination. 

The  Roman  question  that  is  always  in  the  process  of  being 
settled  and  never  gets  settled,  would,  in  my  judgment,  be  dis- 
posed of  in  one  year,  if  the  Roman  Church  only  had  a  real 
laity  with  a  recognized  right  to  speak  and  act.  But  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  by  its  constitution  and  the  principles  of  the 
Canon  Law,  is  made  up  of  the  clerical  body  alone.  The  laity 
has  no  voice.  It  cannot  vote  nor  act  in  settling  the  relation 
which  the  Church  shall  sustain  to  the  State  in  which  it  exists. 
Now,  this  Roman  question  that  agitates  Italy  and  threatens  its 
future;  which  shakes  the  newly-formed  Empire  of  North  Ger- 
many to  its  centre;  which  is  the  great  issue  in  Spain,  on  which 
the  whole  matter  of  the  freedom  of  that  country  depends; 
which  is  deeper  and  more  pervading  than  all  other  questions  in 
France  is  an  issue  between  the  laity  and  clergy.  If  the 
laity  of  the  French  nation  could  make  itself  heard  in  the 
French  Church,'  there  would  no  longer  be  a  divided  allegiance 
among  Frenchmen.  The  trouble  in  France  is,  that  it  has  two 
governments.  Ever  since  the  time  that  Henry  IV.  bartered  his 
conscience  for  his  crown,  there  have  always  been  two  sover- 


i6 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


eigns  ;  one  in  Paris,  and  one  on  the  Tiber.  The  interests  and 
aims  of  these  two  governments  have  seldom  been  the  same, 
and  France  has  found  no  rest.  When  two  men  ride  on  one 
horse,  one  must  ride  before  and  the  other  behind. 

Justinian,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople, said  :  Divine  Providence  has  bestowed  two  great  gifts 
upon  men,  the  Sacerdotium  and  the  Imperium.  The  one  serving 
in  divine  things,  the  other  presiding  over  human  affairs."  When 
this  Sacerdotiu?ji  and  Imperium  grew  up  side  by  side,  the  relative 
supremacy  in  power  of  the  two  soon  came  to  be  debated.  Out 
of  this  sprung  the  Avars  belween  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  and 
Holy  Roman  Church.  The  great  conflict  of  Cavour  in  Italy, 
and  Bismarck  in  Germany,  are  but  modern  repetitions  of  the 
old  War  of  the  Investitures.  They  are  the  final  result  of  that 
separation  between  the  laity  and  the  clergy,  which  signalized 
the  earliest  apostacy. 

The  laity  then,  the  great  body  of  men  and  women  in  the 
Christian  community,  has  a  historical  and  scriptural  place  in 
the  economy  of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  it  has  great  duties  to 
discharge.  One  of  these  duties  is  to  bring  business  common- 
sense  to  bear  upon  the  professional  habits  and  modes  of  thought 
likely  to  prevail  in  the  clerical  body.  I  have  sometimes  thought 
that  the  relation  between  the  clergy  and  the  laity  is  somewhat 
similar  to  that  existing  between  the  judges  and  lawyers,  and 
the  common  law  jury.  The  effect  of  the  jury  system  is  ahva}  s 
to  modify  the  tendencies  of  judges  and  lawyers  to  introduce 
abstract  distinctions  and  technicalities  into  the  administration 
of  justice.  It  is  incumbent  on  lawyers  to  make  their  points  of 
law  understood  by  juries  of  common  men,  taken  out  of  the 
body  of  the  community.  They  must  divest  themselves  of  all 
abstract  and  technical  forms  of  expression,  and  make  their  cases 
obvious  and  clear  to  the  average  mind.  This  prevents  the  law 
from  being  embodied  exclusively  in  a  system  of  abstract  tech- 
nicalities, and  maintains  a  certain  mental  intercourse  and  sym- 
pathy between  judge,  lawyer  and  juror.  By  this  means  the 
average  man  is  able  to  understand  many  of  the  great  principles 
of  law  and  evidence,  in  their  application  to  right  and  wrong, 
between  man  and  man,  and  the  law  is  prevented  from  running 
into  refinements  which  might  defeat,  in  their  application,  the 
ends  of  substantial  justice. 

Such  is  the  relation  between  the  clerical  and  lay  orders. 
They  mutually  act  and  react  upon  each  other,  and  a  constant 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


17 


harmony  between  the  two  is  requisite  to  the  healthy  condition 
of  both  classes.  The  ability  of  the  clergyman  is  best  measured 
by  the  amount  of  thought  and  work  which  he  incites  among 
his  people.  The  congregation,  in  like  manner,  acts  upon  the 
clergyman  ;  and  many  a  young  minister  has  been  saved  from 
heresy,  cured  of  mental  and  moral  idiosyncrasies,  and  kept 
on  the  right  line,  in  his  high  field  of  duty,  by  the  influence 
of  an  intelligent  and  devout  laity  in  his  church.  This  is  the 
true  relation  between  the  pastor  and  his  flock.  They  ought  to 
feel  as  members  of  one  body — the  pastor  becoming  the  more 
powerful,  both  as  a  preacher  and  as  a  leader,  in  proportion  as 
he  makes  available  the  experience  and  spiritual  knowledge 
which  he  obtains  from  the  private  members  of  his  flock.  This 
is  the  fundamental  idea  of  pastoral  visitation  and  of  meetings 
for  conference  and  prayer.  In  these  relations  the  pastor  can 
become  familiar  with  the  temptations  and  trials  incident  to  the 
daily  life  of  men  and  women,  and  also  with  their  spiritual 
thought  and  experience  in  old  age,  suffering,  sorrow  and  care. 

They  should  have  the  principal  charge  of  the  financial  ad- 
ministration of  our  churches  and  Christian  charities.  These 
duties  are  growing  daily  more  vast  and  complicated.  The  prob- 
lems of  charitv  are  imperfectly  understood,  and  the  time  has 
come  when  the  Christian  Church,  as  a  body,  must  study  these 
great  problems  of  human  misery  in  their  laws,  relations  and 
bearings.  Christian  congregations  often  do  great  wrong  to  them- 
selves and  to  society,  by  nursing  the  very  pauperism  which  they 
are  seeking  to  relieve.  It  is  the  business  of  the  laity  to  be  the 
almoners  of  the  church's  bounty,  and  it  is  their  duty  to  obtain 
an  intelligent  mastery  of  the  economical  and  moral  laws  which 
should  control  its  application.  It  is  their  duty,  also,  to  attend 
to  the  great  matter  of  the  erection  and  care  of  church  edifices. 
They  should  limit  the  natural  ambition  of  the  clergyman  for 
the  erection  of  costly  structures  for  the  purposes  of  public  wor- 
ship. They  should  have  an  important  part  in  the  control  of 
Christian  Missions.  This  work  has  assumed  in  late  years  an 
enormous  magnitude.  Very  few  of  us  realize  how  vast  and  com- 
prehensive are  the  merely  business  interests  connected  with  the 
various  organizations  for  the  spread  of  religious  truth.  Very 
few  among  our  laity  understand  how  much  property,  real  and 
personal,  is  possessed  by  our  missionary  organizations  at  home 
or  in  foreign  lands.  Very  few  know  by  what  titles  this  property 
is  held,  or  specifically  how  the  finances  of  these  societies  are 


i8 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


administered.  It  is  very  easy  for  property  to  accumulate  in 
sums  sufficient  to  render  those  who  are  charged  with  its  admin- 
istration, entirely  independent  of  their  constituents.  This  is 
precisely  the  way  as  we  have  seen  that  the  clergy  by  having 
sole  charge  of  church  property,  became  independent  of  the 
laity  in  the  Mediaeval  period. 

These  great  financial  interests  should  be  held  under  discreet 
supervision  and  control,  and  this  is  the  function  of  the  business 
men  among  our  laity.  I  do  not  wish  to  throw  the  faintest 
shadow  of  suspicion  on  the  management  of  any  of  our  great 
societies.  In  fact  none  are  more  anxious  that  our  laymen 
should  do  their  duty  in  this  respect,  than  the  immediate  mana- 
gers of  these  organizations.  The  laity  have  been  sadly  delin- 
quent in  this  matter.  In  alluding  to  this  possibility  of  danger, 
we  have  in  mind  not  what  now  is,  but  what  may  be.  The  ten- 
dency of  such  property  is  always  to  accumulate,  and  its  control 
ought  always  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  class  from  whose  contri- 
butions it  comes. 

The  laity  also  must  have  the  main  control  of  the  Sunday- 
School.  The  power  for  good  wielded  by  the  Sunday-School  is 
vast,  and  yet  how  fearful  is  the  lack  of  able,  clear-headed,  well- 
trained  teachers  !  It  would  sometimes  seem  that  the  benefits  ot 
this  institution  are  in  danger  of  being  neutralized  through  this 
deficiency  of  Christian  men  and  women,  who  are  worthy  and 
competent  to  teach  and  train  the  young.  This  is  a  lay  work, 
and  the  laity  must  be  prepared  for  it,  or  the  work  will  fail  in  its 
high  purpose.  The  future  of  our  own,  and  of  all  religious 
bodies,  will  depend  greatly  upon  the  character  of  the  instruc- 
tion given  to  the  young  in  the  fundamental  principles  and  doc- 
trines of  Christianity.  We  need  for  this  work  persons  of  broad 
mind,  whose  views  of  Christian  doctrine  and  practice  are  clear 
and  well  defined,  who  understand  and  love  our  denominational 
principles,  and  know  how  to  expound  and  maintain  them. 

Again  in  our  meetings  for  conference  and  prayer,  the  lay 
element  has  an  important  place.  The  Plymouth  brethren  are 
accustomed  to  say  that  a  church  never  thrives  under  a  "  one- 
man  ministry."  There  is  an  element  of  truth  in  this  statement, 
though  mingled  with  fundamental  error,  regarding  the  func- 
tions of  the  ministry.  We  believe  that  no  church  can  have  the 
'most  vigorous  health  unless  there  is  an  interchange  of  religious 
feeling  and  thought  among  its  members.  The  whole  body  must 
have  a  deeper  experience  of  life,  and  a  broader  outlook  upon 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


19 


truth  than  any  one  man  can  compass,  however  acute  and  schol- 
arly he  may  be.  From  the  common  body  of  believers  much 
may  be  heard,  worthy  to  be  listened  to  by  the  most  learned  and 
able  minister.  If  the  laity  of  our  churches  could  reach  the 
highest  plane  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  capacity,  how  much 
of  breadth  of  conception,  and  grasp  of  truth  might  be  given  to 
the  exhausted  and  overworked  pastor. 

Above  all,  the  care  and  support  of  Christian  education 
ought  to  devolve  mainly  upon  the  laity — Christian  education  in 
the  broadest  sense  of  the  term — that  kind,  the  necessity  of 
which  I  have  just  hinted  at.  We  educate  the  clergy  that  we 
may  give  them  additional  power  for  good.  The  same  law 
which  makes  it  necessary  that  the  clergyman  should  be  educa- 
ted, applies  to  the  laity.  There  is  just  as  strong  an  obligation 
resting  upon  them  to  educate  themselves,  to  study  the  Bible,  to 
secure  knowledge  and  intellectual  power  generally,  in  order  to 
qualify  themselves  for  being  the  benefactors  of  their  fellow  men, 
as  rests  on  the  Christian  pastor. 

They  are  bound  to  understand  the  moral  principles  which 
underlie  their  daily  business  ;  to  be  able  to  discharge  all  the 
duties  which  rest  upon  the  man,  the  citizen,  and  the  Christian, 
in  all  the  relations  of  life.  The  clergy,  as  it  seems  to  me,  have 
not  done  their  whole  duty  in  enforcing  this  obligation.  I  have 
for  many  years  been  a  listener  to  sermons,  and  I  have  yet  to 
hear  from  my  pastor  the  first  sermon  impressing  upon  the 
average  man  and  woman  of  the  church,  the  duty  of  educating 
themselves  to  the  highest  degree  possible,  so  as  the  better  to 
serve  their  generation.  I  have  yet  to  hear  from  my  pastor  the 
first  sermon  enforcing  upon -Christian  men  and  women  the  duty 
of  giving  to  their  children  the  highest  education  which  the 
children  may  be  able  to  receive,  or  which  it  is  in  the  power  of 
the  parent  to  provide.  I  say  this  in  deep  sorrow.  I  have  heard 
other  men  urge  this  duty,  but  a  pastor  never. 

We  hear  a  great  deal  said  about  the  importance  of  educat- 
ing the  ministry.  In  this  I  heartily  concur.  I  believe  in 
searching  out  those  who  are  called  to  the  ministry,  and  giving 
them  the  highest  education  which  they  are  capable  of  receiving. 
But  I  also  believe  in  searching  out  the  poor  boys  and  girls,  who 
are  to  be  the  laity  of  our  churches,  and  giving  them  such  an 
education  as  shall  render  them  sources  of  blessing  in  the  com- 
munity where  they  are  to  live.  The  fact  that  we  have  heard  so 
much  about  educating  the  ministry,  and  so  little  about  educat- 


20 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


ing  the  laity,  has  brought  about  this  result :  that  whenever  the 
word  education  is  used,  the  thought  associated  with  it  is,  not 
Christian  education  for  all,  but  for  the  ministry  exclusively.  So 
much  has  been  said  and  written  on  the  subject  of  ministerial 
education,  that  it  has  come  to  fill  the  whole  horizon  of  our 
peoples'  thought.  Xo  religious  body  can  grow  healthily  with- 
out an  educated  laity,  as  well  as  an  educated  ministry,  and  to- 
day we,  as  a  denomination,  are  in  greater  need  of  an  educated 
laity  than  of  educated  ministers.  In  this  respect  we  are  behind 
our  fellow  Christians  of  other  denominations.  Our  ministers 
may  now  be  compared  favorably  with  those  of  an}'  other  Pro- 
testant denomination.  They  are  able,  they  are  learned,  they  are 
eloquent.  Our  professional  teachers  and  scholars,  if  I  may  be 
permitted  to  say  it,  have  among  them  the  peers  of  any  on  this 
continent.  But  we  are  deficient  as  a  body  in  this  respect,  that 
we  do  not  adequately  realize  the  importance  of  general  educa- 
tion, in  order  to  wield  the  power  which  belongs  to  us,  in  con- 
sideration of  our  numbers  and  wealth,  and  the  services  we 
have  rendered  in  the  moral  emancipation  and  spiritual  eleva- 
tion of  man.  What  is  needed  everywhere  among  us  is  an  edu- 
cated mind,  permeated  by  Christian  thought  and  feeling.  We 
are  bound  by  every  moral  consideration  to  enhance  the  power 
of  our  churches,  by  giving  their  members,  lay  as  well  as  clerical, 
the  greatest  available  breadth  of  intellectual  and  moral  power. 

We  have  of  late  done  nobly  in  respect  to  the  professional 
education  of  the  ministry.  We  have  between  Chicago  and 
Boston,  in  the  Northern  States,  five  Theological  seminaries, — 
everv  one  of  which  is  well  and  ably  manned,  every  one  of 
which,  with  possibly  one  exception,  has  its  faculty  paid  from 
the  interest  of  endowments  already  secured.  But  the  colleges, 
having  charge  of  that  portion  of  education,  which  is  sometimes 
called  secular,  have  been  too  much  neglected,  both  in  respect 
of  patronage  and  endowment.  This  is  very  natural.  When 
people  hear  nothing  about  education  but  what  relates  to  the 
ministry,  they  naturally  assume  that  it  has  reference  to  profes- 
sional education  only.  They  forget  that  fully  two-thirds  of 
the  time  spent  in  the  education  of  a  minister  is  passed,  not  in  a 
professional  school  but  in  the  academy  and  college.  They 
forget  that  from  the  variety  of  its  branches  and  the  cost  of  illus- 
trative apparatus,  the  expense  attending  the  adequate  equipment 
of  a  college  is  very  much  greater  than  is  required  for  a  Theologi- 
cal seminary.    They  forget  that  the  demand  for  learning,  vigor 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


21 


and  ability  in  the  chairs  of  instruction  in  a  college,  is  equally 
imperative;  and  that  even  a  higher  degree  of  tact  and  adminis- 
trative and  governing  capacity  is  required,  for  a  college  teacher 
than  for  an  instructor  in  a  Theological  seminary.  I  rejoice 
that  my  brethren  who  are  engaged  in  imparting  Theological  in- 
struction are  so  relieved  from  the  eating  cares  and  wearing 
anxieties  which,  by  reason  of  inadequate  endowment,  press  so 
heavily  upon  those  connected  with  what  are  called  secular  insti- 
tutions. But  I  recall,  in  this  connection,  the  Saviour's  words  : 
This  "  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  un- 
done." 

We  have  made  abundant  and  liberal  provision  to  aid  young 
men  in  a  course  of  study  for  the  ministry,  but  little  or  none  for 
the  help  of  young  laymen.  For  more  than  twenty  years  I  have 
had  yearly  under  my  instruction  between  twenty-five  and  thirty 
poor  young  men — earnest,  upright,  religious — who  were  labor- 
ing in  the  face  of  the  greatest  difficulties  to  obtain  an  education  ; 
but  who  were  not  definitely  looking  forward  to  the  ministry. 
There  is  no  society  to  assist  such  men  as  these.  And  yet,  from 
these  very  young  men,  have  been  brought  forward  some  of  the 
finest  students  whom  it  has  ever  been  my  fortune  to  instruct. 
They  have  been,  to  some  extent,  aided  by  gifts  and  loans  from 
the  few  noble-minded  persons  who  responded  to  appeals  on  their 
behalf.  No  class  of  young  men  excite  my  sympathies  more 
strongly  than  these.  Very  little  provision  is  made  for  them  in 
the  way  of  scholarships  or  loan  funds.  I  verily  believe  that  there 
is  no  charity  which  commends  itself  more  strongly  to  the 
thoughtful  and  Christian  mind,  than  provision  by  endowment 
to  aid  such  students  as  I  have  described. 

Many  of  these  young  men,  too  conscientious  to  decide  upon 
a  profession  in  the  early  years  of  their  course,  afterward  with 
mature  minds,  and  slowly-ripened  purpose,  pass  into  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  I  have  in  my  mind  now  men  of  this  class,  who 
are  among  the  ablest  and  most  conscientious  clergymen  within* 
my  knowledge.  It  is  dangerous  to  put  before  a  man  the  tempta- 
tion to  study  for  the  ministry  in  the  form  of  a  promise  of  im- 
mediate support.  Could  I  control  this  matter  I  would  select 
persons  to  be  assisted  in  a  course  of  education,  with  regard  to 
their  mental,  moral  and  religious  character;  and  I  would  con- 
tinue to  aid  them  in  their  education  so  long  as  they  gave  prom- 
ise of  doing  good,  whether  in  one  department  of  life  or  another. 
This  view  may  seem,  in  the  present  state  of  public  opinion,  im- 


22 


Proceedings  of  Convention. 


practicable,  but  I  cannot  do  justice  to  my  own  convictions  with- 
out here  giving  the  result  of  my  experience.  At  Harvard  Col- 
lege, the  sum  of  $20,000  has  been  expended  in  a  single  year,  in 
assisting  poor  young  men  in  getting  through  their  college  course. 
In  addition  to  what  comes  from  the  funds  of  the  college,  large 
amounts  are  given  by  private  persons  to  students  who  are 
needy.  Young  men  of  special  promise  are  sometimes  sought 
out  while  in  the  academy,  and  have  secured  to  them  a  support 
during  their  entire  college  course  at  Harvard,  even  to  provision 
for  their  travelling  expenses  during  vacation.  The  same  pro- 
visions are  made  at  Princeton,  and  at  all  our  large  institutions 
of  learning. 

A  similar  policy  prevails  in  England.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  English  colleges  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  are  large  or 
small  in  numbers,  just  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  endow- 
ment they  have  available  for  the  assistance  of  poor  young  men. 
Guide  books  are  published  to  inform  students  of  trie  average 
amount  produced  by  the  endowed  fellowships  and  scholarships 
in  these  colleges.  This  in  a  large  number  of  instances  deter- 
mines the  selection  of  a  place  of  education  and  by  consequence 
the  number  of  pupils  in  a  given  college.  The  same  system 
affects  the  patronage  of  our  American  institutions  though  not 
precisely  in  the  same  way.  When  the  public  who  support  and 
endow  our  institutions  wake  up  to  this  fact,  and  add  to  the 
requisite  provision  for  professors,-  the  sums  necessary  to  aid 
promising  and  worthy  students,  we  shall  have  the  benefit  of  a 
proportionate  increase  in  the  number  and  power  of  the  men 
whom  we  train.  Until  they  do  this,  we  who  are  teachers  shall 
work  at  a  disadvantage. 

The  institution  that  has  not  endowments  to  support  its 
teachers  well,  and  in  sufficient  number,  is  placed  at  a  similar 
disadvantage.  Men  cannot  always  be  found  who  will  work  at 
a  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  education.  The  natural  tendency  of 
.insufficient  salaries  and  overwork  is  to  drive  able  men  out  of  the 
teachers'  profession.  The  public  cannot  afford  a  state  of  things 
which  does  not  secure  an  able  college  professor  one-half  the 
salary  of  a  city  clergyman,  or  a  fourth  part  of  the  income  of  an 
average  lawyer  or  physician.  The  best  test  of  a  country's 
civilization  is  the  condition  of  public  instruction.  If  the  ser- 
vices of  a  teacher  are  estimated  at  a  lower  price  than  those  of 
any  other  profession,  it  proves,  that  culture  is  at  a  discount,  and 
high  education  not  appreciated. 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


23 


The  question  arises  sometimes  in  my  own  mind,  do  our 
laity  believe  in  colleges  ?  You  may  say  that  it  is  a  very  singular 
question,  but  it  weighs  upon  me  continually.  It  has  forced 
itself  upon  me  with  great  weight  often,  when  tempted  to  leave 
the  profession  of  instruction.  The  question  pressing  upon  the 
teacher  is,  do  your  brethren  want  your  services  ?  Well,  a  great 
many  of  them  do,  and  show  it  by  their  deeds.  God  bless  them 
for  it !  You  and  I  know  who  they  are.  I  need  not  name  them. 
They  will  form  a  part  of  the  history  of  our  institutions  of  learn- 
ing for  all  coming  time.  Scholarship  will  hold  their  names  in 
everlasting  remembrance.  Those  who  have  stood  by  me  in  my 
hours  of  trial,  I  can  never  forget.  Would  that  such  men  were 
more  numerous.  Do  you  here  to-night  believe  in  the  kind  of 
work  that  I  and  my  brethren  are  doing  ?  Is  it  a  work  for  Human- 
ity ?  Is  it  a  work  for  Christianity  ?  If  you  believe  that  it  is.  so 
answer  us,  that  we  may  be  able  to  do  our  work  more  vigorously 
and  efficiently  than  ever  before.  We  have,  some  of  us,  been  wait- 
ing many  years  for  the  answer  to  this  question.  Is  it  to  come  in 
'76  ?  We  have  strong  hopes  that  more  than  that  select  and  honor- 
ed few  who  have  supported  these  institutions  of  learning  hitherto, 
will  come  up  to  aid  us  in  this  work.  ^Ye  want  young  men  to  begin 
to-night,  and  consecrate  themselves  and  their  earnings  to  this 
cause  of  education.  Those  of  us  who  are  laboring  underground 
as  pioneers,  it  will  deliver  from  a  bondage  of  anxiety  and 
care,  more  galling  than  that  which  was  borne  by  our  fath- 
ers, when  they  rose  in  their  might  and  shook  off  the  grasp  of 
Great  Britain.  May  God  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  this  great 
body  of  Christians  to  which  we  belong, — who  are  so  honorably 
associated  with  that  great  triumph  of  our  modern  civilization, 
the  privilege  of  worshiping  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
conscience, — to  devote  themselves  anew  to  the  work  of  training 
the  young  in  all  that  is  ennobling  in  Christian  culture  .' 

Our  denomination  has  had  its  birth  and  nurture  in  scholar- 
ship. Our  indebtedness  to  it  is  great,  and  our  impression  for 
good  upon  the  world  of  the  future,  will,  in  a  great  measure  be 
conditioned  by  what  we  do  now  for  liberal  education. 

Excuse  me  for  having  put  into  this  address  so  much  that  is 
personal.  If  I  know  my  own  heart,  I  have  no  disposition  to 
over-estimate  the  importance  of  the  duties  which  God  in  His 
Providence,  has  laid  upon  me.  Many  a  time  during  the  past 
twenty-two  years,  but  for  a  strong  sense  of  duty  I  would  have 


24 


Proceedings  of  Convention. 


thrown  this  burden  off  my  shoulders.  It  would  have  been  done 
with  a  feeling  of  relief  difficult  to  describe.  My  New  York 
brethren  gave  me  in  charge  a  portion  of  their  educational  work. 
I  have  done  the  best  I  could  with  the  resources  at  my  disposal. 
How  much  greater  and  better  work  could  have  been  done  with 
adequate  endowment  is  not  for  me  to  say. 

In  behalf  of  myself  and  my  brethren  in  charge  of  our  edu- 
cational work,  I  ask  for  such  a  response  to  our  appeal  as  shall 
give  to  our  institutions  in  the  future  a  completeness  of  equip- 
ment, a  reach  of  influence  and  an  intenseness  of  activity,  such 
as  they  have  never  attained  in  the  past.  If  the  year  1876  shall 
bring  a  response  adequate  to  the  greatness  of  the  work  we  have 
in  charge,  our  brethren  in  another  century  will  celebrate  the 
year  1876  as  marking  an  era  of  our  educational  progress  second 
only  in  significance  and  importance  to  that  which  now  we  are 
about  to  celebrate  with  our  thank  offerings  of  gratitude  to  the 
Giver  of  all  blessings. 

The  President  :  That  we  may  not  pass  immediately  from 
the  subject  of  this  address  to  our  ordinary  business,  I  call  upon 
Dr.  Galusha  Anderson  to  lead  us  in  prayer. 

A  prayer  followed,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

The  President  :  Not  only  was  the  happy  thought  of  as- 
sembling the  Unions  entirely  due  to  the  Brooklyn  Baptist 
Social  Union,  but  we  have  had  reason  to  thank  them  for  the 
very  hospitable  reception  we  have  received.  In  addition  to 
that,  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union  desire,  through 
their  President,  Mr.  Dorman,  to  convey  to  you  a  more  formal 
reception. 

Mr.  M.  H.  Dorman  :  Brothers,  it  is  my  very  pleasant  duty, 
in  behalf  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union,  to  extend  to 
you  our  hearty  welcome.  It  is  a  token  of  increased  interest  in 
the  cause  of  Christ,  when  so  many  representative  men,  from 
sections  of  the  country  so  widely  separated,  gather  together 
to  concentrate  practical  thought  on  practical  subjects  ;  to  con- 
sider again  in  a  clearer  light  that  old  question  which  puzzled 
our  fathers  so  many  years  ago  : — "  What  shall  we  do  that  we 
may  work  the  works  of  God?"  Upon  your  counsels  the  eye 
of  the  denominat  ion  is  fixed. 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


25 


I  would  like  to  state,  with  reference  to  our  meetings,  that 
to-morrow  evening,  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union  will 
hold  its  annual  meeting,  at  which  tine  a  collation  will  be  pro- 
vided, and  the  delegates  to  this  Convention  are  respectfully 
invited  to  be  present.  Those  members  of  the  Convention  who 
desire  the  services  of  the  Hospitality  Committee  will  find  them 
at  this  platform  at  the  close  of  the  exercises.  Tickets  to  the 
collation  to-morrow  evening,  will  likewise  be  furnished  to  the 
members. 

It  is  expected  that  Governor-elect  Gaston,  of  Massachusetts 
and  Governor-elect  Tilden,  of  this  State,  will  be  among  those 
who  will  address  you. 

Brethren,  we  welcome  you  to  this  City  of  Churches,  to  this 
City  of  Baptist  influences,  to  our  homes  and  to  our  hearts. 
(Applause). 

Upon  motion  of  Mr.  Jones,  the  hour  of  meeting  for 
the  next  day  was  fixed  at  10  A.  M. 

The  Chair  announced  the  following  as  a  Committee 
of  Arrangements  : 

Horatio  Gates  Jones,  Pennsylvania. 
Joseph  H.  Walker,  Massachusetts. 
S.  S.  Constant,  New  York. 
William  N.  Sage,  Rochester. 
Hezekiah  S.  Chase,  Massachusetts. 
Churchill  H.  Cutting,  Brooklyn. 

Dr.  S.  S.  Cutting  : — I  hope  that  besides  the  topic  which 
is  to  be  discussed  to-morrow  morning,  the  topic  for  discussion 
in  the  evening  will  also  be  borne  in  mind.  The  topic  in  the 
morning  is  a  very  important  one.  There  have  arisen  all  over 
the  United  States,  in  many  of  our  chief  towns  and  cities,  Social 
Unions.  What  are  the  purposes  which  they  may  be  made  to 
subserve  ?  The  subject  is  an  interesting  and  important  one 
and  well  deserves  discussion  during  the  hours  of  the  morning. 
I  do  not  suppose  that  the  committee  of  arrangements  will  vary 
from  the  order  of  topics  proposed  for  discussion  in  the  after- 
noon. The  first  of  these  topics  relates  to  our  Evangelizing 
Agencies,  with  the  relations  thereto  ot  the  laity  of  our  churches. 
The  second  of  these  topics  relates  to  the  subject  of  Education. 


26 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


The  title  of  the  paper  which  is  to  be  read  by  Dr.  Moss,  Presi- 
dent of  the  University  of  Chicago,  is — "  The  place  of  Educa- 
tion in  our  denominational  activities,  with  special  reference  to 
the  present  duties  of  American  Baptists."  It  is  a  topic  which 
covers  the  whole  breadth  of  education,  our  institutions — theo- 
logical, collegiate,  and  academic.  It  covers  the  education  of 
our  ministers  and  of  our  laity,  the  question  of  endowments,  of 
scholarships,  all  matters  of  all  kinds  which  may  relate  to  the 
promotion  of  this  cause.  There  are  here  present  a  very  large 
number  of  distinguished  gentlemen  connected  with  Boards  of 
trust  in  our  various  institutions  of  learning,  and  educators  con- 
nected with  Faculties  of  instruction,  and  we  may  depend  upon 
a  most  interesting  and  important  discussion.  I  hope  there  will 
be  a  large  attendance,  not  only  of  the  delegates  and  invited 
guests,  but  of  our  brethren  and  sisters  generally.  I  was  happy 
at  that  modification  which  the  President  of  the  Rochester  Uni- 
versity made  in  his  topic  this  evening,  so  as  to  make  that  topic 
embrace  the  women  of  our  churches.  Composing,  as  they  do, 
a  most  essential  part  of  our  laity,  it  is  certain  that  if  the  cause 
of  education  in  the  Baptist  denomination  ever  rises  to  the 
dignity  and  importance  which  properly  beiong  to  it,  it  must 
be  in  large  part  by  the  co-operation  of  our  women,  the  mothers 
of  our  children.  (Applause.)  I  hope,  sir,  that  all  these  topics 
will  elicit  a  large  amount  of  attention,  and  large  attendance  on 
the  part  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  to-morrow. 

A  few  announcements  were  made,  and  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  until  10  a.  m.,  to-morrow. 


Baptist  Social  Unions, 

MORNING  SESSION. 


27 


DECEMBER  10th,  1874. 

At  ten  o'clock,  the  President  called  the  meeting  to 
order. 

The  Doxology  was  then  sung. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  Dr.  James  C.  Welling, 
President  of  the  Columbian  University. 

In  the  absence  of  the  Secretary,  Mr.  J.  F.  Wyckoff, 
Mr.  Geo.  C.  Whitney,  of  Massachusetts,  was  appointed 
Secretary, /r<?  tern,  and  read  the  minutes  of  the  preced- 
ing day. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  President,  Mr.  A.  B.  Cap- 
well,  moved  that  a  Committee  on  Enrollment,  to  con- 
sist of  three  members,  be  appointed,  and  nominated  as 
such  Committee  : 

Mr.  George  Allin,  of  Brooklyn, 

Mr.  W.  W.  Huntington,  of  Minneapolis,  and 

Rev.  Thomas  L.  Rogers,  of  Boston. 

The  motion  was  adopted. 

The  President  : — The  Chairman  of  the  Local  Committee 
has  received  letters  from  various  representatives  and  invited 
guests  which,  with  vour  permission,  he  will  now  read. 

Letters  were  read  from  Rev.  Dr.  Hovey,  President 
J.  R.  Loomis,  Rev.  Dr.  Caswell,  Prof.  S.  B.  Spear, 
Prof.  J.  Stevens,  Prof.  A.  Harkness,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  L. 
Caldwell,  Mr.  E.  D.  Jones,  Rev.  A.  Coit,  and  others. 


28 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


The  Committee  of  Arrangements  submitted  a  re- 
port, limiting  the  duration  of  debate,  and  the  report  was 
adopted. 

The  President  : — The  next  business  in  order  is  the  topic 
announced  in  the  programme,  the  title  of  which  is, — "  The 
Methods  and  Uses  of  Social  Unions." 

Mr.  John  P.  Townsend,  President  of  the  Baptist 
Social  Union,  of  Manhattan  Island,  was  introduced,  and 
spoke  as  follows : 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  : — In  preparing  remarks  on 
the  "  Methods  and  Uses  of  Social  Unions,"  I  thought  I  could 
best  illustrate  what  I  had  to  say  by  a  sketch  of  the  rise  and 
progress  of  our  own  Social  Union  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
and  the  drift  of  my  remarks  will  be  in  this  direction. 

Man  is  a  social  animal  who  loves  to  meet  his  fellows  and 
add  to  his  knowledge  of  matters,  religious  or  secular;  he  ac- 
complishes his  object  sometimes  by  forming  societies  or  clubs, 
with  proper  officers  and  committees  who  systematize  and  con- 
duct the  business  brought  before  them  ;  by  this  means  the 
greatest  good  is  obtained  with  the  least  annoyance  to  individu- 
al members. 

Mr.  Galton  says  :  "  Civilization  is  the  necessary  fruit  of 
"  high  intelligence  when  found  in  a  social  animal,  and  there  is 
"  no  plainer  lesson  to  be  read  from  the  face  of  nature,  than  that 
"  the  result  of  the  operation  of  her  laws,  is  to  evoke  intelligence 
"  in  connection  with  sociability." 

In  no  community,  political  or  religious,  is  it  considered 
best  for  one  department  to  possess  all  or  nearly  all  the  knowl- 
edge or  power.  Neither  is  it  just  in  religious  affairs  that  one 
should  do  all  the  work,  but  they  should  be  workers  together 
and  each  is  responsible,  minister  and  laymen,  for  the  use  of  his 
talents,  which  should  be  put  at  interest  that  they  may  increase, 
as  they  will  with  proper  use. 

It  was  the  appreciation  of  these  facts  by  laymen  which  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  Social  Union  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

They  began  to  observe  that  their  great  body  was  gradually 
taking  less  and  less  interest  in  denominational  affairs ;  the 
Evangelical  Societies,  Church  Associations  and  Councils,  were 
managed  more  and  more  exclusively  by  ministers,  who,  from 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


29 


their  liberal  education  and  training,  were  admirably  fitted  to 
undertake  the  work  and  occupy  the  places  left  vacant  by 
negligent  laymen.  So  that  there  was  a  danger  that  we  might 
be  laying  the  foundation  for  a  clerical  hierarchy  among  the 
Baptists. 

To  correct  this  and  renew  the  layman's  interest  in  his  neg- 
lected work,  the  Social  Union  of  Manhattan  Island  was  organ- 
ized about  six  years  ago. 

After  assuming  its  distinctive  name,  its  next  by-law  de- 
clares the  object  of  the  society  to  be  :  "  the  cultivation  of  a 
"  more  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  interests,  local  and  gen- 
"  eral,  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  and  for  the  encouragement 
"  of  a  more  friendly  and  social  intercourse  among  its  laymen." 

To  carry  out  this  object  it  is  necessary  for  laymen  to  edu- 
cate themselves  by  reading,  by  association  and  conversation 
with  those  able  to  teach  in  the  line  of  the  object,  and  by  com- 
paring notes  in  the  meetings. 

For  the  benefit  of  all  alike  speeches  are  made  and  papers 
read  which  are  followed  by  short  discussions,  in  which  members 
take  part. 

One  of  the  first  subjects  discussed  was,  "  The  Mission  Work 
of  Baptist  Churches  on  Manhattan  Isbnd,"  followed  in  Decem- 
ber and  January  ensuing,  by  "Church  Extension  on  Manhattan 
Island."  In  October  and  November,  187 1,  by  "  New  York  as  a 
Mission  Field."  Three  times  in  1872,  by  subjects  of  like  im- 
port, and  again  in  1873,  on  "  Our  City  Mission  Work,"  At 
other  times,  "  How  can  we  best  unite  Baptists  in  their  denomi- 
national work  ?  "  "  Mission  Sunday-School  Work  on  Manhat- 
tan Island,"  "  Ministerial  Education,"  and  u  Responsibility  of 
Associated  Christians,"  were  among  the  subjects  debated  and 
practical  answers  were  suggested. 

"  The  relative  proportion  of  our  Donations  to  the  cause  of 
Christ  as  compared  with  our  private  expenses,"  "  The  Religious 
use  of  Money,"  "The  relation  of  the  Christian  to  the  Church 
and  World,"  "  The  relation  of  our  laymen  to  the  counsels  of 
our  Religious  operations,"  "  Our  Educational  Interests,"  "  Wo- 
man's Work  in  the  Church,"  "The  necessity  for  an  Educated 
Laity  in  our  Churches,"  are  a  few  among  many  subjects  which 
have  received  careful  consideration,  and  the  effect  has  been 
beneficial  in  making  better  because  more  useful  Christians.  It 
is  often  suggested  to  give  the  subjects  treated  of  a  practical 
solution  in  the  Union  ;  it  has  been  proposed  to  build  a  Baptist 


30 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


Temple,  to  be  a  free  church  for  preaching  and  headquarters  of 
the  denomination ;  to  establish  a  Lay  College,  and  do  other 
matters  of  great  interest  to  the  denomination,  which  were 
heartily  commended  and  will  some  day,  no  doubt,  bear  fruit ; 
but,  when  it  was  hinted  that  the  Manhattan  Social  Union  should 
foster  any  one  of  them,  the  retort  was  always  negative.  It  was 
argued,  if  we  take  one  in  hand  we  exclude  the  others — or,  if  we 
take  an  active  interest  in  a//,  we  undertake  too  much,  and  shall 
defeat  what  we  wish  accomplished.  All  had  best  be  left  to 
separate  and  independent  organizations  who  will  each  under- 
take but  one  object. 

The  Union  is  the  place  where  Baptists  meet  to  hear  and 
talk  of  all  things  of  interest  to  the  denomination,  but  it  pat- 
ronizes no  particular  object. 

Societies  may  be  formed  from  members  disposed  with  any 
others  that  may  choose  to  associate  themselves,  but  the  Union 
as  a  Union  takes  no  active  part  in  any  one  thing,  but  has  a  gen- 
eral interest  in  all  denominational  good  works.  It  is  a  Social 
Club  if  you  choose  to  call  it  so,  where  we  meet  to  canvass  mat- 
ters, but  relegate  all  action  to  the  proper  organization. 

It  is  occasionally  urged  that  we  ought  to  do  some  particular 
thing,  and  the  question  is  asked  by  some  not  familiar  with  our 
object,  what  good  has  your  Society  ever  accomplished? 

It  is  true  for  the  reasons  stated  that  we  cannot  point  to  any 
particular  thing  as  the  work  of  our  hands,  but  it  is  believed 
that  by  the  acquaintance  made  with  our  brethren,  who  before 
the  formation  of  the  Society  were  personally  strangers,  by 
associations  which  in  many  cases  have  ripened  into  friendship, 
it  has  been  made  possible  to  undertake  and  carry  forward  enter- 
prises of  the  greatest  credit  to  us  as  Baptists. 

Since  our  formation  there  has  come  into  existence  "  The 
Baptist  Home  for  the  Aged,"  in  charge  of  the  Ladies  of  the 
Churches,  which  raised  $100,000  before  it  commenced  opera- 
tions,— and  to  which  sum  our  first  President  was  one  of  the 
largest  contributors, — built  the  Home  for  the  Aged,  which  is  an 
ornament  to  our  city,  and  now  supports  seventy  old  and  worn- 
out  disciples,  in  comfort  and  peace. 

The  influence  of  the  Union  in  establishing  and  maintaining 
this  charity  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  among  its  warmest  advo- 
cates and  friends  at  the  beginning,  its  counsellors  and  contribu- 
tors ever  since,  are  prominent  members  of  the  Social  Union  of 
Manhattan  Island. 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


3i 


Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  Union,  there  were  two 
associations  of  Churches,  the  "  Hudson  River  South,"  and  the 
"  New  York,"  with  one  or  the  other  of  which  all  our  Churches 
were  connected.  Some  of  the  Churches  in  one  were  not  in 
fellowship  with  all  the  Churches  in  the  other,  rivalries  existed 
in  various  ways.  Not  being  in  harmony,  denominational  work 
in  New  York  languished,  and  if  not  losing,  we  were  not  gain- 
ing ground,  as  from  our  numerical  strength  it  was  believed  we 
should  if  we  were  united.  Efforts  had  been  made  to  consoli- 
date the  associations,  which  had  failed,  but,  after  the  Social  Un- 
ion had  been  in  successful  operation  about  a  year,  a  renewed 
attempt  was  made  in  which  some  of  its  prominent  members 
were  the  principal  actors,  and  met  with  no  serious  opposition. 
The  "  Southern  New  York  Baptist  Association  "  was  the  result 
of  the  consolidation,  and  the  effect  is  seen  in  the  success  of  the 
"Missionary  Union,"  which  has  for  its  object:  to  plant  and  sup- 
port Sunday-Schools,  "  to  provide  gospel  preaching,  to  aid  in 
"  building  meeting  houses,  and  to  spread  Baptist  literature 
"  within  the  bounds  of  the  Association  ;  "  i.  e.  principally  on 
Manhattan  Island. 

The  report  for  the  year  ending  September  30th,  1874,  says: 
"  Three  years  ago  the  first  annual  report  of  the  Missionary 
"  Union  was  presented;  at  that  time  it  did  not  own  one  Mission 
"  building,  did  not  occupy  one  really  eligible  room,  did  not 
"  possess  one  square  foot  of  ground,  had  not  twenty  dollars  in 
"  its  treasury." 

Now,  it  owns  two  houses  of  worship  well  adapted  to  its 
purposes,  occupies  fourteen  Mission  Stations  where  preaching 
services  are  regularly  held,  and  has  a  like  number  of  Sunday- 
Schools,  expended  nearly  $32,000  during  the  year  without  ex- 
hausting its  funds,  and  has  property  scheduled  at  over  $44,000. 
Of  the  officers  and  managers  of  this  Society,  the  larger  part  of 
the  laymen  are  prominent  members  of  the  Social  Union  of 
Manhattan  Island. 

In  this  brief  manner  we  have  endeavored  to  exhibit  the 
power  of  influence,  as  distinct  from  action  of  one  Social  Union, 
which  we  maintain,  should  be  the  object  and  use  of  such  organ- 
izations wherever  they  exist,  as  Ave  believe  the  good  accom- 
plished in  this  manner,  although  it  cannot  be  measured  or 
weighed  by  any  human  standard,  is  greater  and  heavier  in  the 
mass,  than  if  one  or  two  objects  had  been  selected  for  particular 
labor.    Permit  us  to  remark  further,  that  in  assuming  the  char- 


32 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


acter  of  educator,  the  Social  Union  must  have  some  qualifica- 
tions ;  these  are  found  to  a  certain  extent  in  individual  mem- 
bers, but,  we  are  also  assisted  by  the  ministry,  which,  thanks  to 
the  laity,  is  liberally  educated,  and  when  we  reflect  what  it  is 
in  this  respect,  we  are  reminded  that  in  our  care  for  "  Ministe- 
rial Education,"  we  have  neglected  the  education  of  the  laity 
greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  both,  for  the  two  being  branches 
of  the  same  body  and  equal  as  members,  one  cannot  advance  to 
the  highest  place  without  leaving  the  other  behind,  and,  as  our 
system  permits  of  no  separation,  education  fails  of  the  good  it 
might  accomplish  were  the  two  parts  nearer  equal  in  this 
respect. 

Minds  are  broadened  by  cultivation  and  made  more  pro- 
ductive by  digging,  and  with  the  practical  knowledge  of  the 
laymen  added  to  the  theoretical  knowledge  of  both,  new  pro- 
jects suggested  to  their  united  counsels,  would  receive  that 
high  consideration  and  wise  action  of  which  such  minds  only 
are  capable,  and  the  fruit  borne  would  be  of  better  quality  than 
that  produced  from  the  hard  dry  soil  where  the  plow  of  educa- 
tion has  not  been  often  and  deep. 

Reforms  are  needed  by  which  Christianity  will  benefit,  and 
those  wTill  take  part  in  their  accomplishment  who  are  fitted  by 
education  to  guide  or  lead  ;  but,  says  an  eminent  writer,  "  Xo 
"  reforms  will  be  made  until  demanded  by  the  people,  and 
"  they  will  demand  only  what  their  interests  require."  Let  us 
add,  without  a  knowledge  of  their  requirements  which  can 
be  obtained  only  by  education  reforms  must  necessarily  be 
long  delayed.  It  seems  then  clearly  our  duty  as  Christians  to 
educate  ourselves  in  every  way  we  can,  in  order  to  advance  our 
denomination  to  the  highest  possible  place,  and  in  order  that 
our  people  in  coming  generations  may  keep  step  with  the  pro- 
gress of  the  age  to  liberally  educate  our  children,  which  we 
have  so  largely  denied  to  ourselves  for  their  temporal  as  well 
as  spiritual  welfare,  as  the  competition  in  life  will  be  greater  in 
the  future,  and  the  survival  of  the  fittest  will  be  exemplified  in 
the  lettered  over  the  unlettered  man. 

The  President  : — This  will  introduce  the  subject  for  dis- 
cussion— any  subjects  suggested  by  and  relating  to  it,  will  be  in 
order. 

Rev.  Dr.  Evarts,  ol  Chicago: — The  question  was  forward- 
ed from  the  Chicago  Social  Union,  the  question  of  the  principles 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


33 


to  be  incorporated  in  the  very  many  Social  Unions,  throughout 
the  country.  The  relation  of  these  unions  has  been  discussed 
very  well  through  the  whole  of  our  denomination.  There  have 
been  many  points  named  in  this  report  that  I  rejoice  have  been 
named,  such  as  the  custom  of  intercourse  between  cities  and 
sections  of  the  country,  as  in  the  olden  time  there  were  messen- 
gers of  the  Churches.  There  is  no  reason  why  one  pastor  or 
one  laymen  should  have  put  upon  him  the  whole  of  that  duty. 
You  have  provided  for  this  in  Boston  and  in  Brooklyn,  and  it 
should  be  provided  for  everywhere.  Also  another  point,  that 
of  a  sort  of  council,  where  our  people  shall  assemble  to  delibe- 
rate face  to  face,  so  that  the  Unions  may  become  provincial 
councils.  We  may  have  seen  in  this  report  that  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  people  is  awakened  by  discussion.  For  that  cause,  let 
the  union  be  permanent,  as  a  council  for  our  people.  But  there 
are  important  practical  directions  to  grow  within  them.  As  for 
one,  a  man  who  had  studied  this  matter,  how  to  secure  and 
guard  our  property  which  comes  to  us  in  great  cities,  I  remem- 
ber told  me  ten  years  ago,  that  he  could  prove  that  the  New 
York  Baptists  had  lost  more  property  than  they  possessed. 
This  council  will  provide  for  such  things.  Rich  men  will  not 
give  us  property,  unless  we  can  give  security  that  it  will  not  be 
taken  away.  Our  brethren  in  Cleveland  are  setting  a  good  ex- 
ample. Within  four  years,  §3o,ooo  worth  of  property  has  been 
given  to  our  people,  and  in  three  or  four  of  the  cases,  it  would 
have  been  lost,  but  for  the  plans  of  our  council.  I  hope  all  the 
Unions  will  see  to  it  and  originate  a  trustee-ship  at  once.  Let 
nothing  ever  be  mortgaged  or  loaned  without  the  views  of  the 
council.  Then  the  important  question  of  leadership  in  enter- 
prises. That  was  well  put  in  the  paper.  It  is  moral  influence  that 
is  wanted.  A  wise  council  will  lead  to  wise  action,  whether  we 
buy  a  lot  or  build  a  house.  The  city  of  Newark  has  done  this 
well.  We  shall  try  to  do  it  in  Chicago.  We  hope  these  eastern 
delegates  will  inaugurate  councils  and  then  leave  them  to  do 
this  work.  More  than  that,  if  the  Union  would  wisely  inaugu- 
rate half  a  dozen  missions,  they  would  do  better.  The  question 
will  come  up  very  early,  whether  we  will  have  two  Unions  in  a 
city  or  not ;  whether  the  Social  Union  will  take  on  a  mission- 
ary feature,  or  whether  the  mission  will  take  on  a  social  feature. 
Let  there  at  least  be  the  main  point  kept  before  us,  to  inaugu- 
rate the  Union.  That  idea  will  fill  the  whole  land,  and  it  is 
your  honor  to  inaugurate  this  great  enterprise.    If  you  de- 


34 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


nounce  the  grand  missionary  work  you  will  break  down  che 
Union  in  the  end.  Encourage  that  form  of  Union.  Cultivate 
the  Union.  What  a  blessed  work  crystalizes  about  the  Home 
Missions  and  the  Church  Extension  Society !  Incorporate  with 
your  ideas  of  progress  the  work  of  our  people  ;  our  hearts  will 
be  united  to  the  work  by  it.  The  solder  is  not  for  the  vessel, 
but  the  contents.  The  Union  is  not  for  itself,  but  for  the  great 
cause  of  the  Baptist  denomination. 

The  President  : — We  wish  brief  reports  from  each  Social 
Union  of  the  country,  giving  accounts  of  the  condition  and 
practice  of  each.  We  can  borrow  suggestions  from  each.  It 
need  not  be  extended,  but  brief,  giving  what  is  peculiar  to  each 
Union.  My  suggestion  is  that  delegates  from  each  of  the  Un- 
ions should,  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  give  some  such 
report. 

A  report  from  the  Boston  Union  was  called  for. 

Mr.  Hezekiah  S.  Chase,  of  Boston  : — I  appear  here  as  an 
invited  guest.  I  was  also  requested  by  one  who  is  a  delegate 
to  represent  him.  So  I  appear  here  in  two  capacities,  as  the 
delegates  have  a  right  to  fill  vacancies.  I  certainly  am  called 
upon  very  unexpectedly,  but  I  do  know  something  of  the  work- 
ings of  the  Boston  Baptist  Social  Union.  It  has  been  a  power 
— a  power  for  good.  I  suppose  it  has  served,  more  than  almost 
anything  among  us,  to  give  uc  faith  in  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion. It  is  the  strength  and  the  back-bone  of  the  denomination. 
(Applause.)  It  originated  with  three  of  our  best  men,  one  of 
whom  I  certainly  expected  to  see  here  and  to  respond  to  any 
such  call.  I  refer  to  the  Hon.  J.  Warren  Merrill.  He  was 
one  of  the  original  callers  of  the  meeting  to  organize  that 
Union.  Three  gentlemen  made  a  call  for  a  meeting  to  promote 
good  fellowship,  acquaintance  and  the  general  cause  of  the  de- 
nomination ;  to  organize  for  that  purpose.  There  was  no  name 
then  for  it,  and  it  really  took  a  good  while  for  us  to  find  a  name. 
At  that  meeting  there  were  some  twenty  or  thirty  of  us,  and 
there  was  quite  a  discussion.  The  name  of  Club  was  the  first 
one  thought  of.  It  did  not  seem  exactly  adapted  to  a  Christian 
organization,  so  after  a  while  the  name  of  Baptist  Social  Union 
was  suggested  by  a  brother,  and  it  was  adopted  at  once  and 
unanimously.  Other  denominations  have  followed  our  exam- 
ple.  The  Methodists  have  formed  a  Social  Union  ;  the  Congre- 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


35 


gationalists  also,  and  they  call  it  a  Congregationalist  Club. 
But  the  Bccton  Baptist  Social  Union  was  organized  about  nine 
years  ago,  with  twenty  or  thirty  members.  It  now  embraces 
more  than  two  hundred.  (Applause.)  It  has  gone  on  with 
increasing  power  from  the  start. 

A  Brother  : — It  has  two  hundred  and  eighty-four  members 
and  was  started  ten  years  ago. 

Mr.  Chase  : — I  did  not  go  into  the  statistics.  Now  I  per- 
ceive by  the  address  of  the  President  of  the  New  York  Social 
Union  that  their  course  has  been  very  similar  to  ours.  One  of 
our  rules  was  that  no  contribution  should  be  taken  up  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Union.  Another  was  that  no  cause  should  be 
presented  except  through  the  Executive  Committee.  Causes 
have  been  presented  and  have  met  earnest  responses,  and  I  do 
believe  that  many  institutions  have  been  endowed  that  would 
not  have  been  endowed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  influence  of  the 
Boston  Baptist  Social  Union.  I  think  an  endowment  of  $200,- 
000  to  the  Newton  Theological  Seminary  is  due  to  the  Boston 
Baptist  Social  Union.  It  was  brought  up  there.  People  had 
their  minds  stirred  up,  and  they  acted  on  the  impulse  given  at 
the  meetings  of  Boston  Baptist  Social  Union.  I  think  I  might 
name  others. 

And  we  meet  there,  Mr.  President,  not  only  to  enjoy  a 
delightful  social  hour,  which  we  certainly  always  have, — we 
have  good  times  there  always, — but  we  meet  there  with  the 
view  of  promoting  the  religious  objects  of  the  denomination, 
and  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the  world.  We  meet  there  to  aid,  as 
best  we  can,  all  the  great,  noble  objects  of  education  in  every 
department,  in  the  Academy,  the  University,  and  the  Theologi- 
cal Seminary.  We  feel  the  importance  of  those,  and  we  all 
strive  to  lift  up  ourselves,  to  acquire  knowledge  and  use  our 
personal  influence  for  the  cause.  I  believe  that  the  Boston 
Baptist  Social  Union,  which  is  the  mother  of  all  Social  Unions, 
has  been  one  of  the  great  powers  of  the  denomination,  to  lift  it 
up,  to  strengthen  it,  and  to  carry  forward  all  great  and  noble 
and  grand  processes  for  its  growth,  and  the  cause  of  the  Re- 
deemer in  the  world.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  say  anything 
more  definite.  We  go  for  these  general  principles.  We  do  not 
mean  to  sustain  it,  Dr.  Evarts,  for  ourselves,  but  for  the  great 
cause  of  the  denomination.  I  rejoice  that  this  Convention  of 
the  different  Social  Unions  has  been  called,  and  I  hope  the 


36 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


great  things  anticipated  by  many  of  us,  will  be  realized  in  the 
end,  and  that  it  will  result  in  having  a  great  many  more  Baptist 
Social  Unions  in  the  land,  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  great  cause 
for  which  we  all  earnestly  labor,  and  desire  to  see  grow  and 
extend  in  the  world. 

The  President  : — Will  you  tell  us  how  often  you  meet  and 
what  is  the  order  of  proceeding  ? 

Mr.  Chase  : — We  meet  the  last  Monday  in  each  month,  at 
five  o'clock.  Then  business  is  transacted, — is  done  usually  in 
a  half  hour.  We  go  into  our  collation  at  half-past  five,  remain- 
ing there  about  three  hours,  with  an  intermission  of  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes.  We  invite  the  ladies  once  a  year.  One  year 
we  had,  in  the  Spring  and  Fall,  a  grand  festival. 

A  Brother  : — I  think  I  would  express  the  wish  of  the 
Convention  if  we  could  now  hear,  through  the  President,  from 
Connecticut. 

The  President  : — We  will  hear  from  one  State  at  a  time. 
The  President  of  the  Baptist  Social  Union  of  Western  Massa- 
chusetts is  here,  and  I  will  call  upon  him  to  report  for  his  So- 
ciety. 

Mr.  D.  G.  Brigham,  of  Springfield  : — Mr.  President :  I  am 
surprised  that  our  President  is  not  here  to  respond  this  morn- 
ing. I  saw  him  on  the  platform  last  evening.  I  will  say  just  a 
word,  however,  in  his  absence.  I  think  the  Social  Union  of 
Western  Massachusetts  is  eminently  adapted  to  the  condition 
of  the  denomination  when  it  was  organized.  You  are  aware 
that  the  churches  of  Western  Massachusetts  are  scattered  over 
hill- side  and  valley,  and  the  churches  themselves  scarcely  knew 
each  other,  and  we  felt  as  though  the  Social  Union  came  at  the 
time  we  needed  it,  and  we  feel,  from  quarter  to  quarter,  as  we 
meet,  that  they  are  great  advantages,  not  only  that  they  have — 
in  a  financial  way — helped  mission  work  and  church  work,  but 
that  we  have  known  each  other  more  intimately.  We  meet 
quarterly,  not  always  at  Springfield.  We  meet  wherever  the 
case  demands.  We  go  over  the  mountain  to  Pittsfield,  we  go  to 
Westfield,  we  go  to  Northampton.  Our  last  meeting  was  at 
Amherst,  because  we  thought  the  cause  called  us  to  go  there. 
We  always  take  the  ladies  with  us,  and  we  think  that  we  are  there- 
fore in  advance  of  our  mother.  (Applause.)  And  we  think  the 
last  meeting,  at  Amherst,  was  very  interesting.  We  have  always 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


37 


discussed  questions  of  denominational  interest.  We  have  to  be 
very  careful  with  that  ;  to  know  just  how  far  we  can  go,  and 
not  go  too  far.  While  I  think  our  people  have  been  brought 
up  to  feel  the  necessity  of  endowing  our  institutions,  yet  scat- 
tered as  we  are,  we  feel  the  necessity  of  its  being  a  Social  Union, 
that  we  may  shake  hands.  I  think  it  is  a  great  thing  to  come 
together  and  shake  hands  sometimes,  and  we  have  felt  just  that, 
a  bond  of  sympathy  running  from  brother  to  brother,  and  from 
church  to  church. 

I  happen  to  have  in  my  pocket, —  it  must  have  been  provi- 
dential,— a  circular  which  has  just  been  issued  from  Amherst, 
and  perhaps  that  will  show  what  kind  of  work  we  do.  It  has 
been  circulated  but  a  few  days.  This  is  a  circular  that  has  just 
been  sent  to  every  Baptist  Church  in  Western  Massachusetts, 
directed  to  the  pastors  of  each  church. 

Dear  Brother  :  At  a  meeting  of  the  Western  Massachusetts  Baptist 
Social  Union,  at  Amherst,  Octoher  6th,  1874,  a  special  committee  was  appoint- 
ed to  present  plans  for  a  More  Earnest  and  Effective  Christain  Work  during 
the  approaching  winter.  Their  report  recommended  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  correspond  with  pastors  of  the  several  churches,  asking  them  to 
hold  themselves  and  members  of  their  churches  who  have  the  gift  of  prayer, 
exhortation  or  song,  in  readiness  to  go  and  work  with  any  neighboring  church, 
or  in  any  locality  whence  may  come  up  the  cry  for  help  in  revival  efforts  ;  that 
any  pastor  or  church,  needing  such  help  in  special  emergencies,  may  apply  to 
this  committee,  who  shall,  if  possible,  send  the  desired  co-operative  force. 

In  compliance  with  this  report,  Deacon  Edward  Chase,  Holyoke  ; 
J.  L.  Lovell,  Amherst  ;  E.  A.  Gallupe,  Chicopee  ;  S.  V.  R.  Daniels,  Pitts- 
field  ;  M.  P.  Breckenridge,  Westfield  ;  D.  H.  Brigham  and  O.  B.  Douglas, 
Springfield,  were  appointed. 

This  committee  met  October  9th,  to  determine  a  course  ot  action.  In 
pursuance  of  plans  adopted,  they  ask  you  to  send  to  D.  H.  Brigham,  Chair- 
man, or  O.  B.  Douglas,  Secretary  of  the  committee,  at  the  earliest  moment 
possible,  the  address  of  your  pastor  and  workers,  who  may  be  relied  upon  to 
carry  out  in  spirit  the  recommendations  of  the  above  report,  and  aid  in  any 
labor  the  Lord  lays  upon  us.  Also  state  on  what  evenings  each  would  be 
most  at  leisure  for  the  work,  and  if  any  could  go  out  on  the  Sabbath  or  a  week 
day,  if  called.  Are  you  needing  the  prayers  or  assistance  of  your  Brethren  ? 
Ask,  and  receive.  It  is  urged  that  in  carrying  out  to  any  extent  this  plan, 
great  good  must  result.  We  shall  become  better  acquainted,  and  strengthen 
the  bond  which  unites  us  ;  develop  feeble  interests  ;  promote  Christian  sym- 
pathy ;  concentrate  power  for  aggressive  work  ;  build  not  only  over  against 
our  own  house,  but  from  heart  to  heart ;  assist  those  needing,  and  receive  the 
aid  our  labor  demands.    We  shall  be  strengthened  in  giving  and  in  receiving. 

Brethren  and  Sisters,  take  this  matter  to  Him  who  directs  wisely  and 
gives  liberally  the  strength  to  perform.  Trust  Him  freely  and  go  forward. 
Pray  for  us.   Let  us  hear  often  from  those  rendering  or  receiving  or  desiring  aid. 

(Signed  by  all  the  Committee.) 


Proceedings  oj  Convention 


I  would  say  that  during  the  last  two  or  three  days  we  have 
received  very  generous  responses  in  both  directions.  We  find 
that  there  are  many  who  desire  just  this  aid,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  we  shall  find  real  Christian-hearted  men,  who  will 
respond  to  this,  both  laymen  and  pastors.  (Applause.) 

The  President: — Next  in  chronological  order  of  forma- 
tion was  the  Baptist  Social  Union  of  Connecticut.  That,  we 
think,  is  now  on  a  firm  foundation,  and  a  positive  success.  That 
is  due,  more  than  anything  else  to  our  fortunate  selection  of 
our  first  President.  A  year  after  that  he  wanted  to  resign,  but 
we  would  not  accept  his  resignation  until  last  July,  when  as  he 
strongly  felt  the  weight  of  advancing  years  and  the  pressure  of 
a  large  business,  we  were  obliged  to  accept  his  resignation.  He 
is  here,  and  is  the  only  proper  person  to  report  upon  that  So- 
ciety. I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  my  venerable 
friend,  James  L.  Howard,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

Mr.  Howard,  however,  did  not  respond  at  this  time. 

President  Raymond,  of  Vassar  College  : — Before  proceeding 
with  this,  will  vou  allow-  me  to  present  a  request.  As  the  hum- 
ble, elected  representative  of  a  sisterhood,  who  I  believe  will 
decide  this  house,  we  have  heard  allusions  to  the  ladies  from 
the  representatives  of  two  of  the  societies,  which  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  the  Unions  they  represent  hold  a  somewhat  different 
view  in  regard  to  the  availability  of  womanly  aid  in  these  en- 
terprises. One  of  them  invites  the  ladies  once  a  year.  The 
Western  Massachusetts  Baptist  Union  invites  them  at  every 
meeting.  I  feel  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  knowing  how  the 
different  Unions  stand  on  "  the  Woman  question,"  and  I  would 
respectfully  request,  on  behalf  of  the  sisters,  that  those  who 
speak  of  Unions  hereafter  will  let  us  know,  for  I  have  no  doubt 
that  they  have  wisely  considered  it.  I  should  like  to  know 
what  the  general  result  has  been,  but  especially  if  any  of  them 
have  found  work  for  women  to  do,  lay-women  by  the  side  of 
lay-men.  I  should  like  to  have  their  light  come  out  in  this 
convention. 

The  President  : — What  we  want  to  know  is  what  is  distinc- 
tive of  each  Social  Union.  We  don't  want  to  know  what  we  all 
believe  in,  but  how  one  differs  from  another,  precisely  as  Dr. 
Raymond  has  said  about  the  Woman  question, — what  their 
views  are,  what  their  intentions  are  about  holding  woman  to 


Baptist  SocialU  nions. 


39 


only  one  place.  What  is  distinctive  in  sex  or  feature  we  want 
to  hear,  and  I  want  to  call  Mr.  Howard's  attention  to  the 
migratory  feature  of  our  Union. 

Mr.  J.  L.  Howard,  of  Hartford: — I  congratulate  you,  be- 
cause you  will  have  a  short  speech,  instead  of  a  long  one.  I 
am  a  short  spoke  of  the  wheel  and  therefore  not  much  of  a 
spokesman  any  how.  As  to  the  women,  we  always  carry  them 
inside.  We  do  not  put  them  outside.  We  have  them  with  us, 
with  the  exception  of  one  meeting.  They  distract  our  attention 
from  serious  subjects,  and  at  one  meeting  a  year  we  have  to 
banish  them  and  have  the  meeting  to  ourselves.  We  organized 
three  years  ago,  from  necessity.  We  do  not  have  any  given 
centre.  It  was  found  that  the  laymen  of  the  churches  were 
unacquainted  with  each  other.  I  found  myself  in  the  work,  and 
found  I  did  not  know  half  a  dozen  men.  The  question  came  up 
how  should  they  be  brought  together.  About  that  time  our 
good  mother  down  in  Boston  sent  me  an  invitation  to  be  pre- 
sent at  a  festival  meeting.  I  went  there  and  saw  five  hundred 
gentlemen  and  ladies  together,  and  caught  an  inspiration,  and 
we  formed  a  Union  at  New  Haven.  We  have  from  that  grown 
to  a  moderate  body.  We  have  somewhere  towards  two  hundred 
members.  We  have  to  be  migratory.  We  have  to  bring  together 
the  laymen, — and  they  always  bring  the  sisters, — to  bring  the 
laymen  of  the  different  churches  together,  to  get  them  acquaint- 
ed, and,  in  fine,  the  grand  result  has  been  that  in  our  Domestic 
Mission  work  we  have  raised  and  spent  more  than  three  times 
the  amount  ever  spent  before  the  establishment  of  the  Union, 
and  also  done  a  great  deal  for  the  establishment  and  mainten- 
ance of  feeble  churches.  (Applause.)  But  beyond  that  I  think 
in  its  work  it  has  had  a  very  happy  influence  with  regard  to 
education.  There  has  been  in  our  churches  but  little  interest 
in  our  institution  at  Suffield,  but  through  the  influence  of  our 
Social  Union,  and  through  continual  discussion  there,  theie  has 
been  growing  continually  a  feeling  of  responsibility  for  the 
support  of  that  institution,  so  that  I  hope,  when  1876  shall  come, 
Connecticut,  though  small,  will  yet  appear  respectable  by  the 
side  of  her  sister  States. 

We  meet  three  times  a  year.  We  meet  in  Hartford,  Xew 
Haven,  Norwalk,  Stonington,  Norwich,  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting in  all  the  laymen  of  these  different  churches,  and  making 
them  acquainted.    Now  we  are  one  body.    We  know  where  we 


4o 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


are  and  what  we  are,  and  it  seems  to  us  that  we  are  more  im- 
portant as  Baptists  than  before.  There  is  a  mutual  rivalry  with 
reference  to  success.  There  is  a  feeling  or  desire  to  see  our 
own  denomination,  that  had  not  existed  before,  and  the  result 
in  our  State  I  think  has  been  a  very  happy  one,  and  one  that  is 
being  felt  more  and  more,  instead  of  less  and  less. 

The  question  which  has  called  us  together  to-day  has  been 
one  of  .some  thought.  I  have  come  in  as  a  scholar.  I  hope  to 
listen  to  suggestions  with  reference  to  the  means  of  bringing 
out  the  greatest  amount  of  work  from  the  Social  Unions.  It  is 
a  question,  how  shall  we  make  the  next  Union  enjoyable  ?  We 
always  have  a  splendid  supper,  just  as  good  as  we  can  have 
anywhere.  We  always  have  good  speeches  afterwards,  for  we 
always  admit  the  clergymen,  and  they  always  eat  well  and  make 
capital  after-dinner  speeches.  And  then  we  have  a  nice  chow- 
der; first  a  layman  who  stumbles  a  little  in  his  talk,  and  then  a 
doctor  of  divinity.  We  get  to  have  a  sort  of  feeling  as  though 
we  all  had  an  interest  in  it.  But  as  was  once  remarked  by  Dr. 
Wayland,  I  mean  his  father,  (bowing  towards  the  President,) 
who  perhaps  knew  more  than  he  does,  "  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
religion  in  a  good  cup  of  tea."  I  don't  know  how  it  is  with 
most  folks,  but  I  am  not  half  so  religious  when  I  am  hungry.  I 
believe,  brethren,  that  we  are  in  the  right  line  in  having  these 
Social  Unions  social,  with  reference  to  all  the  aspects  of  the 
case.  Sometimes  we  feel  that  we  have  had  more  frolic  than 
serious  talk,  but  after  all,  after  thinking  it  over,  we  think,  "  why, 
what  a  good  brother  our  brother  A.  is, — and  so  with  brother  B. 
— I  always  thought  he  looked  cross,"  and  even  our  brother 
Cutting,  when  he  came  there  had  a  little  fun  in  his  nature, 
which  was  very  singular,  and  we  did  not  like  him  any  the  less 
for  it.  (Laughter  and  applause)  I  don't  think  of  anything 
more  to  say,  so  I  will  sit  down.  (Applause.) 

The  President: — Rhode  Island  comes  next,  and  I  call  up- 
on Prof.  Clark  to  report  for  that  organization. 

Prof.  B.  F.  Clarke,  of  Rhode  Island  : — The  Social  Union  of 
Providence,  and  the  little  strip  of  land  around  about  it  known 
as  the  rest  of  Rhode  Island,  is  made  up  of  the  Baptists  in  that 
section,  who  have  banded  themselves  together  under  the  name 
of  the  Rhode  Island  Baptist  Social  Union.  This  Social  Union 
is  a  child  yet.  It  has  been  in  existence  but  three  years,  but  al- 
ready it  has  got  to  be  a  power.    The  meetings  of  this  Union 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


4i 


are  held  once  in  two  months,  with  the  exception  of  the  warm 
summer  month,  August,  making  five  meetings  in  the  year.  At 
two  of  these  meetings  the  ladies  are  invited  ;  at  the  other  three 
meetings  they  are  not  invited.  The  membership  at  present  is 
something  like  a  hundred.  Our  meetings  are  held  on  the  third 
Monday  of  the  month  in  which  they  occur.  The  business  meet- 
ings occur  at  half-past  five  in  the  afternoon,  after  which  an  hour 
is  spent  in  social  intercourse  before  the  collation.  Then  the 
collation,  and  after  that  we  hear  speeches.  We  have  been  feel- 
ing our  way  along,  but  taking  hold  of  those  subjects  which  Ave 
felt  demanded  the  attention  of  the  denomination.  The  first 
object  which  demanded  our  attention  was  the  Worcester  Aca- 
demy, and  we  are  proud  to  feel  that  we  did  some  good  in  for- 
warding the  endowment  of  that  institution,  which  is  so  near  to 
us  geographicallv,  and  to  our  hearts.  Another  unique  question 
arose,  — the  relation  of  the  city  churches  to  the  country  churches, 
— and  an  amount  of  statistics  was  received  which  was  rather 
wonderful.  It  shows  that  a  very  large  number  of  the  member- 
ship of  our  city  churches  appear  to  have  been  converted  in  our 
country  churches,  and  afterward  came  to  the  city.  Then  in 
connection  with  that,  the  number  of  educated  young  men,  men 
who  were  educated  in  our  city  and  who  were  preachers  in  our 
city,  is  found  to  be  astonishingly  small.  In  one  of  our  meet- 
ings, we  took  hold  of  one  of  our  feeble  churches  and  we  put 
underneath  it  a  block  of  $2,000  on  the  spot,  and  they  felt  en- 
couraged and  that  the  Social  Union  was  doing  them  good. 

I  am  called  upon  so  unexpectedly,  that  I  have  not  collected 
the  information  that  I  would  like  to  give  you  and  the  meeting, 
but  the  remarks  of  other  Social  Unions  may  apply  to  us,  with 
regard  to  the  ministers  and  the  social  element  which  pervades 
all  our  meetings.  If  there  is  any  other  point,  I  hope  it  will  be 
mentioned.  (Applause.) 

A  Brother  : — I  hope  we  shall  hear  from  Mr.  George  Daw- 
son, of  Albany. 

Mr.  Dawson,  of  Albany: — I  do  not  know  what  I  am  called 
upon,  sir,  to  do.  We  have  no  Social  Union  at  Albany,  and  I 
cannot  therefore  make  any  report  as  to  what  our  Social  Union 
is  doing.  We  have,  however,  I  am  very  happy  to  say,  an  or- 
ganization somewhat  similar  to  the  Social  Unions  which  have 
been  referred  to,  a  Local  City  Missionary  Union.  That  organi- 
zation has  been  in  operation  some  six  or  seven  years,  and  so  far 


42 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


as  local  work  is  concerned,  we  believe  that  it  has  been  quite 
effective.  We  have  now  in  operation,  successfully,  six  distinct 
mission  stations.  One  church  has  grown  out  of  one  of  the 
stations,  and  another  probably  soon  will  be  organized.  The 
practical  work  is  confined  mostly  to  the  Sabbath  Schools  and 
local  lay  preaching.  In  this  regard  we  are  greatly  delighted 
with  what  our  friend  Dr.  Anderson  said  last  evening  in  regard 
to  the  necessity  of  lay  work,  and  the  education  of  laymen  con- 
nected with  our  denomination.  We  have  six  or  eight  young 
gentlemen  in  our  locality  who  have  received  a  somewhat  liberal 
and  generous  education,  and  they  have  very  kindly  offered  to 
give  their  services  in  the  lay  department,  and  they  have  proved 
themselves  very  acceptable,  so  much  so,  sir,  that  I  do  not  know 
but  that  there  will  be  a  little  jealousy  between  them  and  the 
regularly  organized  churches.  I  was  attending  a  meeting  at  a 
mission  station  a  little  while  ago,  when  one  of  these  young 
laymen  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  preach.  I  expressed,  to 
one  of  the  gentlemen  in  that  locality,  my  surprise  that  the  con- 
gregation was  so  large,  and  I  asked  him  if  it  was  always  so. 
"  Oh,  no,"  he  said,  "  it  is  not  always  so,  but  it  is  always  so  when 
it  is  understood  that  laymen  will  preach."  (Laughter.)  I  be- 
lieve, sir,  that  so  far  as  our  locality  is  concerned,  the  lay  preach- 
ing has  been  a  great  success,  and  that  we  have  received  into  the 
various  churches,  within  the  last  three  or  four  years,  from  thirty 
to  fifty  persons  who  have  been  converted  through  these  lay 
services. 

In  regard  to  the  mode  of  preserving  the  title  to  property 
acquired  for  missionary  purposes,  that  is  a  very  practical  sug- 
gestion made  by  Dr.  Anderson,  and  also  by\Dr.  Evarts  this 
morning.  There  should  be  some  system  adopted  by  which  we 
can  secure  and  retain  a  proper  title  to  the  property  which  we 
obtain  for  missionary  purposes.  We  have  in  our  organization 
thought  out  this  subject,  and  we  believe  that  we  have  success- 
fully secured  the  title  to  all  the  property  which  we  have  pur- 
chased for  this  purpose.  We  have  got  the  title  to  five  mission- 
ary chapels,  with  the  lots  attached,  and  the  title  is  in  the  hands 
of  a  committee,  an  executive  committee,  composed  of  the  Presi- 
dent, Secretary  and  three  or  four  additional  brethren,  who  con- 
stitute the  committee.  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  anything 
further  to  say  with  regard  to  Albany  labor,  except  that  we  all 
feel  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  Social  Unions  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  country,  and  anticipate  very  soon  to  organize  one 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


43 


ourselves.  We  are  very  well  united,  but  we  believe  that  we 
could  be  more  useful  if  we  had  an  organization  like  that  which 
has  been  referred  to  this  morning.  We  have  felt  a  deep  interest 
in  this  meeting.  I  have  never  before  had  the  fortune  to  attend 
a  social  gathering  of  this  kind,  except  in  one  instance,  in  Bos- 
ton, and  in  common  with  all  who  have  attended  them,  I  have 
felt  their  great  influence.  I  shall  be  very  glad  if  anything  will 
induce  us  to  form  an  organization,  and  that  hereafter,  instead 
of  appearing  as  invited  guests,  we  may  send  delegates  from  our 
own  Social  Union  to  the  gathering.  (Applause). 

The  President: — Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  Social 
Union  of  Cleveland,  so  I  will  call  upon  Dr.  Strong,  late  of 
Cleveland.  I  think  he  is  in  the  house.  What  is  peculiar  to 
that  Union  ? 

A  Brother  : — Will  you  allow  me  to  ask  a  favor  of  the 
gentlemen  who  speak?  The  relation  of  women  in  these  Unions 
has  been  referred  to.  It  will  be  satisfactory  to  myself  and  others 
to  know  the  relation  of  the  clergymen  to  them,  and  if  speakers 
from  different  places  will  state  just  how  far  the  clerical  mingles 
with  the  lay  element,  it  may  be  interesting  and  instructive. 

Mr.  Chase,  of  Boston  : — In  Boston  it  was  not  thought  best 
to  have  clergymen  members  of  the  Union.  It  was  discussed, 
but  it  was  thought  better  for  the  clergymen,  as  well  as  lor  the 
laymen,  not  to  have  the  orders  mingled.  But  I  am  very  happy 
to  say  here,  that  the  clergymen  of  Boston  are  invited  by  the 
members,  and  are  nearly  all  of  them  present  at  all  of  cur  gath- 
erings, and  enjoy  them  as  much  as  any  of  us.  The  larger  por- 
tion of  the  speaking,  after  the  collation,  is  by  our  clergymen. 
They  felt  a  little  cross  at  first  because  they  were  excluded,  but 
now  they  all  feel  that  it  is  better.  They  are  happy,  as  guests  ; 
we  enjoy  their  society  and  speaking,  and  we  have  a  good  time 
together.  We  have  one  clergyman  who  is  a  life  member,  and 
that  is  the  Rev.  Dr.  Xeale,  of  Boston, — an  honorary  member 
for  life. 

The  President  : — With  regard  to  the  Connecticut  Social 
Union,  I  will  say  that  it  is  a  most  distinct  feature  of  our  Union 
that  no  clergyman  shall  be  a  member  of  it.  The  members  have 
the  right  to  invite  one  guest,  either  a  clergyman  or  a  layman, 
as  they  choose.  Of  course,  at  the  business  meeting  the  clergy- 
men are  not  present.    But  in  the  social  feature  of  the  Union, 


44 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


we  seek  to  call  up  the  lay  element  as  much  as  possible,  and 
when  we  have  no  lay  element  to  occupy  the  time,  then  we  call 
upon  clergymen.  But  it  is  instituted  for  the  development  of 
lay  talent  and  lay  efficiency.  The  clergymen  have  Sunday,  and 
then  have  the  opportunity  to  talk  at  us  and  to  us  as  long  as 
they  please.  But  at  these  meetings  we  think  it  is  wise  policy 
to  bring  out  and  stimulate  lay  talent.  There  are  many  men  in 
our  Baptist  denomination  who  never  spoke  in  public  in  their 
lives  until  they  spoke  in  this  Union,  and  now  they  respond 
whenever  called  upon,  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  their 
audiences.  The  tendency  is  all  in  the  other  direction,  at  least 
in  our  denomination,  and  I  think  we  cannot  have  too  much  of 
it. 

Prof.  Clarke,  of  Rhode  Island: — In  regard  to  the  Rhode 
Island  Union,  the  same  may  be  said  as  of  Boston.  Ministers  or 
clergymen  are  not  admitted  to  membership,  with  perhaps  one 
exception.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Caswell  could  not  be  admitted  as 
a  member  of  our  Union,  but  Prof.  Caswell  was  elected. 
(Laughter.) 

   ,  of  Philadelphia: — In  Philadelphia  we  have  a 

by-law  in  reference  to  this  question.  We  had  the  question  up 
for  discussion  and  we  decided  that  the  clergyman  was  just  as 
good  as  a  layman,  and  they  come  in  and  we  do  not  know  any 
difference.  They  do  not  pray  any  better  or  talk  any  better  than 
the  laymen.  At  the  last  meeting  we  had  a  glorious  time,  and 
we  elected  one  of  them  as  our  President. 

Dr.  Fish,  of  New  Jersey  : — I  did  not  suppose  there  was  a 
case  where  clergymen  were  members,  but  at  the  same  time  I 
would  like  to  know  more  about  this  thing,  and  I  hope  light  will 
be  shed  upon  it.  I  would  like  to  know  exactly  how  far  the 
clergy  participate  in  it,  and  if  the  ideas  of  our  chairman  are 
generally  held.  It  seems  to  me  there  is  great  force  in  them, 
but  I  am  in  doubt  about  it,  and  there  are  practical  reasons  why 
I  would  like  light  upon  it.  I  think  there  are  two  sides  to  it.  I 
could  easily  see  the  great  importance  of  developing  the  laymen 
by  putting  work  upon  their  shoulders,  and  yet  I  have  a  sort  01 
feeling  that  if  we  should  move  for  the  organization  of  the  So- 
cial Union  in  our  State,  there  would  be  considerable  question 
about  that.  I  hope  there  will  not  be  a  State  without  it  in  two 
years.  So  I  am  not  quite  clear  as  to  the  matter.  Sometimes 
laymen  do  things  better  than  ministers,  and  sometimes  not  as 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


45 


well.  Now  if  the  brethren  see  the  point  I  am  at,  I  will  be  glad 
if  the  speakers  will  be  particularly  careful  on  that  point. 

I  want  to  throw  out  another  thought  of  a  very  practical 
nature.  I  got  a  letter  the  other  day  from  St.  Louis,  and  it  says, 
"  Give  me  the  names  of  twenty  of  your  best  laymen  in  New 
Jersey."  "  Well,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  I  do  know  the  laymen  of 
New  Jersey,  but  I  really  don't  know  how  to  answer  that  ques- 
tion." Now  if  there  was  a  Bureau  of  the  laymen  of  the  Bap- 
tist denomination  of  America,  I  would  be  glad  to  get  hold  of 
the  names  of  these  men,  who  may  be  called,  in  a  mischevious 
sense,  the  leading  laymen.  I  would  be  glad,  and  brother 
Griffith  may  take  the  hint,  if  we  had  a  fair  index  of  the  laity, 
of  the  solid  men  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  America.  I  know 
enough  of  the  laymen  as  this,  to  say  that  we  should  try  as  much 
to  find  out  who  these  men  are,  these  that  I  am  talking  of,  as  to 
find  out  who  the  minister  is.  Now  there  is  the  other  side.  It 
is  laymen  who  make  the  minister,  in  a  more  important  sense 
than  we  apprehend,  and  I  should  like  to  know  these  men  who 
are  not  known  to  the  churches  by  name.  I  think  there  should 
be,  somewhere,  a  record  in  some  form  or  other,  somehow  telling 
me  where  I  can  find  a  good,  solid  earnest  man  of  brains,  and 
back-bone  and  ability,  in  our  denomination,  for  the  denomina- 
tion is  full  of  them  no  doubt,  but  where  can  you  get  hold  of 
their  names.  It  does  me  good  to  come  here  and  see  men  of 
that  stamp  on  this  floor,  and  that  is  the  great  glory  which  will 
crown  this  Social  Union  movement  in  all  our  cities.  So  I  hope 
these  hints  and  suggestions  will  be  followed  out,  and  those 
contained  in  the  paper  which  was  read.  In  that  circular  there 
was  one  feature  where  my  heart  responded  with  such  a  bound 
of  sympathy  and  joy.  If  you  are  discouraged  at  all,  and  want 
a  word  of  cheer,  if  you  want  a  little  money,  or  an  earnest 
prayer,  let  us  know  it.  Oh,  sir,  that  has  the  right  ring.  The 
time  was  when  it  was  so.  That  is  as  our  fathers  did.  That  is 
the  way  they  carried  on  revivals  in  the  early  time.  How  was  it 
done  ?  By  those  who  were  strong,  helping  the  weak — and  those 
who  were  crying  out,  "  come  and  help  us."  When  they  heard 
the  cry,  forth  they  w^ent,  leaving  their  churches.  The  good 
minister,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  more  courage  than  some 
weak  brother,  went  over  to  help  him,  put  the  church  on  its  feet, 
and  that  church  lived.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  New  Eng- 
land towns,  where,  if  there  was  this  sort  of  work  done,  there 
would  be  enough  life  and  vitality  put  into  a  dying  church  to 


46 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


keep  it  alive  for  another  generation.  One  good  revival  work 
would  convert  enough  young  people  to  be  put  into  that  church 
which  is  now  nearly  dried  up,  to  vitalize  it  and  keep  it  alive 
through  another  generation.  There  are  enough  laymen  who 
can  preach  well  enough  while  the  minister  is  away.  (Applause.) 

Dr.  Cutting  : — As  the  time  appointed  for  adjournment  has 
come,  I  hope  the  suggestion  as  to  an  extension  of  time  will  be 
carried  out. 

By  general  consent,  a  postponement  of  the  time  of 
adjournment  was  decided. 

The  President  : — Now  there  are  seven  or  eight  other  So- 
cial Unions  from  whom  we  ought  to  hear.  That  is  exactly  the 
purpose  for  which  this  morning  was  set  apart,  and  there  are 
many  important  facts  which  may  be  mentioned,  such  as  the 
work  of  women  in  these  Unions.  I  beg  to  call  upon  the  Hon. 
J.  H.  Walker,  President  of  the  Worcester  Social  Union,  to 
give  us  some  account  of  his  organization. 

The  Hon.  J.  H.  Walker  : — We  have  a  Social  Union  in 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  which  has  been  in  existence  less  than 
a  year.  Our  constitution  has  precisely  this  provision,  "  any 
member  of  any  Baptist  church  may  be  a  member  of  the  Social 
Union  by  signing  its  by-laws,"  and  paying  for  what  each  enter- 
tainment costs,  as  we  have  them.  The  clergymen  are  always 
present  and  we  depend  upon  them  mostly,  for  the  talk.  We 
have  been  so  much  in  the  habit  of  taking  our  ministerial  bro- 
thers with  us,  that  this  morning  I  went  over  and  got  our  bro- 
ther Armitage.  I  like  to  rub  against  them  and  criticize  them. 
We  propose  to  have  the  ministers  all  present,  to  call  them  to 
order  when  the  time  comes  and  shut  them  off,  as  we  do  each 
other.  They  have  common  sense.  Then  we  always  have  the 
ladies  present.  I  should  rather  have  the  wives  of  the  gentle- 
men present,  than  the  gentlemen  themselves,  if  I  wanted  to  get 
any  money.  I  have  something  to  do  with  this  Academy  that 
has  been  spoken  of,  and  if  we  could  have  appealed  to  the  wives, 
we  should  have  done  better  than  we  did.  We  raised  some 
326,000. 

The  next  thing  is  as  to  church  property.  We  do  a  little 
mission  work  in  Worcester.  Let  me  tell  you  one  tiling,  as  the 
President  of  the  Baptist  Social  Union  in  Worcester,  if  you 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


47 


undertake  to  form  mission  interests  by  all  the  churches,  and  all 
the  denominations  form  them,  you  will  never  have  anything 
good  in  them.  If  you  make  one  church  do  it,  and  all  the  other 
churches  help  you  as  the  work  calls  upon  them,  you  will  do  it. 
We  have  been  laboring  promiscuously,  and  I  have  asked  many 
times  for  the  fruit  of  that  work.  I  have  not  seen  it.  You  must 
have  somebody  to  see  to  it,  and  it  must  be  one  church.  A  half 
a  dozen  never  can.  We  established  that  little  interest.  It  was 
done  by  the  weakest  church  in  the  city,  and  it  was  sustained. 
Now  they  have  a  church  there,  and  the  church  property  is  in 
the  hands  of  three  trustees.  These  trustees,  as  they  resign  or 
die,  are  to  be  elected  by  the  church,  and  whenever  that  interest 
is  strong  enough  to  have  the  property  transferred  to  them,  it  is 
to  be  done.    Don't  undertake  to  have  everybody  do  a  thing. 

We  must  proceed  from  the  Bible  doctrine  of  the  church 
being  the  foundation  of  all  things.  We  must  build  upon  some 
one  church.  Stay  there  ;  never  get  away  from  it.  Why,  Mr. 
President,  we  have  so  many  organizations,  so  many  institutions, 
so  many  meetings,  necessary  for  all  of  us  to  attend.  Have  not 
we  divided  this  work  up  into  so  many  departments  that  it  takes 
us  all  the  time  to  keep  them  in  operation  ?  I  believe  this  Social 
Union  is  the  direct,  positive  out-growth  of  a  church  necessity, 
and  I  think  nearly  all  these  other  institutions  are  not  founded 
upon  the  church.  Let  us,  as  members  of  the  Baptist  Social 
Union,  every  man  of  us,  and  I  hope  we  shall  all  of  us  see  that 
this  is  so,  examine  ourselves  and  say,  "  is  there  any  one  institu- 
tion aside  from  the  church  of  which  I  am  a  member,  that  I  am 
working  for; — Worcester,  Suffield,  or  Brown?  Is  it  my  duty 
to  care  for  them  ?  "  Let  us  resolve  before  God  that  every  single 
time  we  attend  the  Social  Union,  as  my  judgment  is,  we  ought 
to  give  something  to  some  institution  that  it  is  our  duty  to 
support.  We  cannot  take  up  contributions,  but  we  should  al- 
ways have  some  object  presented,  so  that  when  we  go  out  of 
the  doors,  we  can  say,  "  we  thank  God  that  we  have  been  here 
and  for  all  His  rich  gifts,  and  now  we  will  give  something  to 
our  pet  institution,  to  make  it  stronger,  as  a  testimonial  to  God 
for  His  blessing  to  us  that  we  are  able  to  do  so.  (Applause). 

The  President  : — Is  Dr.  Strong  ready  to  report  for  Cleve- 
land ? 

Dr.  Strong  : — All  this  matter  I  think  might  point  a  moral 
and  adorn  a  tale.    The  Rochester  Social  Union  was,  I  fear, 


48 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


formed  upon  the  principle  of  all  play  and  no  work.  We  had 
alumni  dinners  and  social  gatherings  from  time  to  time,  but 
the  Rochester  Social  Union  filled  no  important  place.  The 
Cleveland  Social  Union,  in  whose  formation  I  had  a  considera- 
ble part,  was  formed  upon  the  opposite  principle  of  all  work 
and  no  play.  We  take  for  our  text-book  the  annual  of  the 
Newark  Union.  The  Baptist  Union  in  Cleveland  is  no  Social 
Union  at  all.  It  is  formed  for  the  purpose  of  planting  new 
missionary  enterprises  in  the  city  and  caring  for  those  already 
established.  Within  these  last  six  years,  the  churches  compos- 
ing that  Social  Union  have  succeeded  in  constituting  two  old 
missions  into  self-supporting  churches,  and  three  entirely  new 
missions  have  been  planted.  The  object  which  we  had  in  view 
at  the  beginning  was  to  give  to  each  church  of  the  city,  a  mis- 
sion which  would  afford  an  opportunity  for  work  for  the  young 
people  of  each  respective  church,  and  a  very  large  portion  of 
what  Ave  set  out  to  do,  has  been  accomplished.  Three  of  the 
churches  have  now  special  mission  stations,  two  new  chapels 
have  been  built,  and  the  property  now  amounts  to  about  $80,- 
000.  This  I  think  is  a  very  fair  result  for  the  five  or  six  year's 
work  which  has  been  done.  I  have  often  wished,  in  my  own 
connection  with  the  Baptist  Union  there,  that  the  social  element 
might  be  added.  I  think  it  might  be  without  hindering  the 
work.  I  attribute  a  great  deal  of  the  work  to  the  method  of 
the  organization.  From  each  one  of  the  churches  in  the  city 
four  delegates  are  chosen  each  year,  and  these  delegates,  twenty 
in  number,  with  the  pastors,  constitute  a  central  council,  and 
that  council  deliberates  with  regard  to  every  and  any  interest, 
affecting  the  interest  of  the  denomination.  It  is  a  fundamental 
principle  that  no  new  enterprise  shall  be  undertaken  or  entered 
upon,  except  after  thorough  consultation  and  deliberation  by 
the  members  of  this  central  body.  It  has  done  a  great  deal  to 
strengthen  the  bonds  between  the  churches,  and  so  far  as  I  can 
see,  the  prospect  for  the  year  is  very  much  better  than  it  was, 
even  two  or  three  years  ago.  That  it  has  a  future  before  it,  I 
do  not  doubt.  (Applause). 

Mr.  S.  A.  Crozer,  of  Philadelphia  : — I  think,  sir,  it  would 
be  much  more  proper  if  the  report  for  the  Philadelphia 
Baptist  Social  Union  should  be  made  by  the  President,  who  is 
at  my  left  hand,  even  though  I  am  a  member  of  this  Union.  I 
do  not  reside  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  nor  can  I  say  that  I 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


49 


am  very  well  informed  as  to  its  full  working.  It  is  of  recent 
origin  with  us,  and  I  don't  know  but  that  some  of  us  are  very 
much  delighted  to  get  information  about  how  they  do  things  in 
other  quarters,  and  perhaps  will  be  inclined  to  put  it  in  opera- 
tion when  they  get  back.  I  hope  you  will  call  upon  Dr.  Grif- 
fith, who  will  speak. 

The  President  : — We  will  be  glad  to  hear  from  Dr.  Grif- 
fith. My  antipathy  to  clerical  speeches  is  not  so  great  as  not 
to  wish  to  hear  from  him. 

Dr.  Griffith  : — I  will  only  say  that  the  Social  Union  of 
Philadelphia  is  too  young  to  offer  anything  from  experience  or 
the  wisdom  of  age,  that  is  needed  here  in  this  question.  The 
Chair  has  spoken  very  rightly  about  special  features.  We  have 
not  had  time  for  any  special  features  in  our  Union.  I  wTould 
name  one  or  two  points.  We  have  a  universal  membership,  as 
far  as  the  denomination  is  concerned.  The  ladies  have  met 
with  us  once  out  of  three  times,  and  probably  will  hereafter 
regularly  for  our  benefit,  if  not  for  others.  It  is  useful  for 
Unions  to  have  the  ladies  meet  with  them.  We  do  feel  a  very 
deep  interest  in  the  question  before  us.  I  am  satisfied  that 
while  our  present  work  is  merely  the  social  element,  the  culti- 
vation of  acquaintances,  learning  to  know  each  other,  that  will 
not  do  permanently, — will  not  be  enough.  It  is  ample  at  pre- 
sent. This  Social  Union  with  us,  as  I  believe  elsewhere,  has 
grown  up  out  of  the  conviction  that  we  were  all  strangers  to 
each  other.  Merchants  living  in  the  same  block,  knowing  each 
other  as  merchants,  did  not  know  each  other  as  Baptists.  There 
are  scores  of  them  in  our  city.  We  have  a  vast  multitude  of 
young  men,  enterprising  young  men,  in  the  Baptist  Churches 
of  Philadelphia,  but  they  and  everybody  have  been  strangers  to 
each  other,  and  are  now  to  a  very  great  extent.  Of  the  older 
men,  too,  few  of  them  know  each  other.  I  say  that  the  social 
element,  the  bringing  of  these  men  together,  to  have  them  shake 
each  other  by  the  hand,  to  look  each  other  in  the  eye,  to  know 
each  other  as  Baptists, — that  will  do,  with  a  good  entertainment 
in  the  way  of  feasting,  for  the  time  being.  But  that  is  not 
enough.  It  will  not  last  long  unless  there  is  something  more 
than  that,  in  the  way  of  binding  heart  to  heart  and  mind  to 
mind,  some  special  interest  for  discussion  and  thought  and  feel- 
ing,— unless  there  is  something  to  do  I  have  no  hope  that  the 
Social  Union  will  obtain  its  growth.    What  it  will  be  is  the 


5o 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


problem.  That  is  what  I  am  here  for,  to  have  that  problem  solv- 
ed. What  are  these  associations  to  do  ?  What  is  essential  to 
their  life  ?  That  with  us  is  the  great  question.  Then,  as  I  have 
said,  the  social  element  alone  must  not  be  thought  sufficient. 
Now  a  meeting  is  to  be  held.  What  can  these  men,  these  bodies 
of  men,  that  come  together  once  a  month,  or  once  in  three 
months,  have  put  before  them,  of  sufficient  interest  and  sufficient 
importance  to  enlist  their  whole  energy?  That  is  the  problem 
that  I  hope  to  have  solved  by  this  meeting.  (Applause). 

Mr.  S.  S.  Constant  offered  the  following  resolution. 

Resolved : — That  a  Committee  of  Five  be  appointed  to  re- 
port this  afternoon  as  to  the  advisibility  of  making  a  permanent 
organization  of  this  Convention. 

The  motion  was  seconded. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Walker,  of  Massachusetts  : — 1  only  wish  to  say  a 
word  or  two  of  my  fear  about  this  suggested  organization. 
Now  these  Social  Unions  are  complete  in  themselves,  except  as 
we  invite  each  other  to  meet  together.  I  don't  think  it  should 
be  incumbent  upon  us  to  come  together  except  as  we  feel  like 
it.  I  hope  we  will  not  make  too  much  of  this.  We  have  now 
institutions  which  I  believe  are  a  burden  upon  us  to  sustain.  But 
I  have  no  objection  to  the  appointment  of  a  Committee. 

Mr.  : — It  seems  to  me  that  the  same  interest 

which  has  called  into  being  the  Baptist  Social  Union  for  the 
churches,  demands  a  national  organization  of  the  same  char- 
acter, and  I  hope  this  Committee  will  be  appointed,  and  that 
they  will  favorably  consider  an  association  of  this  kind. 

Mr.  W.  W.  Huntington,  of  Minnesota: — I  did  not  design  to 
say  a  word  here,  but  I  find  that  I  am  a  member  of  a  Baptist 
Social  Union  which  is  every  way  in  sympathy  with  these.  It 
was  organized  three  years  ago  with  not  many  members,  and 
we  turned  our  hands  to  every  work  where  we  thought  we  would 
do  any  good.  The  results  of  our  three  years  labor  are  shown  in 
the  establishment  of  four  mission  schools,  in  a  small  city,  com- 
pared with  this.  We  have  30,000  inhabitants.  We  try  to  do 
anything  and  everything  which  we  think  will  forward  the  inter- 
ests of  the  cause  of  Christ.  For  instance,  we  have  done  one 
thing  that  none  of  you  have  alluded  to.  We  thought  it  would 
do  no  harm  for  our  laymen  to  hear  better  preaching.  We 
thought  that  if  a  Minister's  Institute  would  do  that,  we  would 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


5' 


have  one.  We  sent  lor  Dr.  Northrup,  of  Chicago,  and  other 
eminent  men,  and  we  held  an  Institute  for  about  one  week.  We 
had  a  grand  time.  The  clergymen  said  it  did  them  good.  That 
was  one  little  thing  our  Baptist  Social  Union  thought  it  good 
to  do.  We  hold  our  meetings  quarterly  and  we  are  organized 
more  for  work  than  enjoyment.  We  have  one  grand  social  un- 
ion once  a  year,  when  we  gather  together  all  the  Baptist  forces 
or  the  city,  and  have  one  good  meeting.  Then  we  appoint 
Committees  and  an  Executive  Board,  to  look  after  the  affairs 
and  interests  during  the  year.  This  Executive  Board  comes  to- 
gether whenever  it  is  called  by  the  President,  but  statedly  this 
Board  meets  every  quarter.  If  anybody,  any  member,  thinks  of 
anything  he  wants  taken  care  of,  he  comes  to  this  Executive 
Board,  and  we  give  him  all  the  encouragement  we  can.  Our 
hearts  are  in  sympathy  with  every  work  that  has  for  its  object 
the  advancement  of  the  cause  of  Christ.  (Applause). 

President  Welling,  of  the  Columbian  University,  of  Wash- 
ington : — I  have  observed  that  you  have  somewhat  reversed  the 
usual  rule,  not  beginning  at  Jerusalem,  but  ending  at  Jerusa- 
lem. I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  simple  statement  of  statistics 
because  the  time  is  so  brief.  The  Washington  Baptist  Social 
Union  is  in  the  third  year  of  its  existence.  It  is  composed  ex- 
clusively of  the  laity.  They  invite  uniformly  the  pastors  of  the 
churches,  who  are  expected  to  be  present  and  participate  in  the 
exercises.  They  also  invite  the  sisters  of  the  churches,  who  are 
also  expected  to  be  present.  We  have  only  two  permanent  offi- 
cers. One  is  the  Treasurer,  and  the  other  is  the  Secretary  who 
keeps  the  record  of  our  proceedings.  At  each  meeting  we  ap- 
point a  brother  who  is  expected  to  be  responsible  at  the  next 
ensuing  meeting  for  the  conduct  of  our  deliberations,  to  select 
a  topic  and  secure  speakers.  Owing  to  the  peculiar  position  of 
Washington,  to  which  the  tribes  of  our  American  Israel  come, 
we  find  a  number  of  people,  temporary  residents,  not  knowing 
each  other  because  they  come  from  all  parts  of  the  land.  We 
therefore  aim  to  give  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  extension 
of  the  social  feature.  After  our  discussions  we  adjourn  to  par- 
take of  a  collation,  and  then  we  meet  again  to  discuss  the  same 
topics  which  were  before  us  before  the  collation.  We  have  dis- 
cussed chiefly  those  questions  relating  to  church  extension, 
because  we  have  churches  in  Washington  which  need  our  aid, 
and  secondly,  the  educational  interest  connected  with  Colum- 
bian University,  which  lias  received  the  support  of  the  Baptists 


52 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


in  Washington,  because  of  the  energy  enlisted  by  our  Social 
Union.  (Applause). 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Burrage,  of  Maine : — I  am  here  as  a  delegate 
of  the  Social  Union  of  Western  Maine.  We  have  had  only  two 
sessions.  It  was  organized  last  spring.  We  invite  the  ladies, 
and  not  only  the  members  of  the  churches  in  and  near  Portland, 
but  all  around.  We  believe  that  this  Social  Union  is  to  be  a 
power  with  us  in  Western  Maine,  and  we  hope  that  before  long 
we  shall  have  another  in  Eastern  Maine,  whose  services  will  be 
as  valuable. 


Baptist  Social  Unions.  53 


AFTERNOON  SESSION 

DECEMBER  10th,  1874. 

President  Wayland  in  the  chair. 

The  session  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
An  able,  of  Massachusetts. 

The  President  announced  the  committee  to  consider 
the  question  of  permanent  organization,  as  follows  : — 
Messrs.  J.  Hopkinson,  H.  G.  Jones,  Geo.  H.  Andrews, 
Nathan  Bishop,  and  D.  H.  Brigham. 

The  President  : — The  question  coming  before  us  first  this 
afternoon,  is  "  The  Evangelizing  Agencies  of  the  Denomination 
and  the  proper  Relations  thereto  of  the  Laity,"  upon  which  the 
Hon.  George  H.  Andrews,  of  New  York,  will  address  you. 

The  Hon.  George  H.  Andrews,  of  New  York  : — Mr.  Presi- 
dent, and  Lad4es  and  Gentlemen  :  I  feel  as  if  it  were  an  act  of 
presumption  for  me  to  speak  upon  such  a  topic  as  has  been  an- 
nounced, especially  as  only  two  or  three  hours  have  elapsed 
since  I  was  apprised  of  it  by  the  committee,  and  my  mind  has 
been  entirely  occupied  with  the  discussion  this  morning  during 
the  whole  time,  but  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  refusing  the  demands 
of  my  brethren,  when  they  are  made  as  this  has  been  made  to- 
day. 

I  suppose  that  chief  among  the  Evangelizing  Agencies  of 
the  denomination,  we  may  consider  the  Preached  word.  Of 
that  there  can  be  no  question.  Now  what  should  be  the  rela- 
tion of  the  laity  towards  the  preacher  ?  We  have  had  something 
said  upon  that  subject  this  morning.  Certainly  these  relations 
should  not  be  hastily  broken  or  involved  in  jealousy,  or  in  any- 
thing not  amicable,  kind,  fraternal,  affectionate,  effective  and 
warm-hearted.  The  preacher  is  dependent  upon  the  laity  for 
the  success  of  his  work  ;  first  of  all  dependent  upon  the  Great 


54 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


Ruler  of  all,  to  whom  we  give  honor  and  whom  we  serve,  but 
speaking  after  the  manner  of  man,  for  the  usefulness  of  his 
church  he  is  dependent  upon  the  laity-  Now  the  question  is, 
do  the  laity  always  appreciate  their  relation  to  the  preacher. 
Do  they  feel  that  upon  them  rests  that  great  responsibility,  and 
that  Paul  may  plant  and  Apollos  may  water,  but  that  unless 
help  is  given  by  the  educated  laity,  it  is  in  vain  that  Paul  shall 
plant  and  Apollos  water.  Now  the  minister  is  not  only  depen- 
dent upon  the  laity  for  their  services,  but  for  their  sympathy. 
Sometimes  it  seems  to  me  as  if  there  were  a  broad  line  of  divis- 
ion between  the  pastor  and  the  people  ;  that  they  sat  in  the  pews 
and  watched  with  curiosity  the  poor  man's  struggles  to  lift 
them  up.  Not  inactivity,  but  real  activity,  is  the  duty  of  the 
laity.  There  should  be  that  warm  sympathy,  ever  ready  to  give 
help  and  counsel,  and  not  to  hamper  him  in  any  way,  but  al- 
ways ready  when  asked  to  give  their  counsel  to  the  pastor,  and 
assist  him  in  his  efforts,  and  lighten  his  labors.  He  should  al- 
ways be  greeted  by  a  cheerful  laity.  It  is  a  part  of  the  labor  of 
the  Social  Union  to  encourage  this.  Through  the  vivifying  and 
stimulating  influence  of  the  Social  Unions  these  men  will  be 
found  tc  be  generous,  full  of  light  and  love,  and  capable  of  en- 
joying the  good  things  of  this  life.  They  should  always  be 
careful  to  present  their  best  side  to  the  minister.  The  ministers 
see  enough  of  the  worst  side,  its  afflictions  and  trials.  To 
whom  does  the  layman  go  in  the  hour  of  trial  but  to  his 
minister  for  counsel  ?  To  whom  in  the  hour  of  affliction 
but  to  his  minister  ?  It  is  not  always  the  saddest  side  of 
lay  life  that  the  minister  should  see,  but  heshould  be  made 
a  part  of  the  household.  He  should  be  made  familiar  with 
the  children.  They  should  come  to  look  up  to  the  minis- 
ter as  an  elder  brother.  He  should  so  bear  himself  in  his 
relation  to  the  family  and  the  family  should  so  bear  itself  in  its 
relation  to  him,  that  this  habit  of  thought  should  be  cultivated; 
that  the  child  should  look  up  to  the  minister,  not  in  awe  or 
reverence,  but  with  love  to  him  as  his  best  friend.  The  bright 
side  of  things  should  be  presented  to  the  minister  ;  he  sees 
enough  of  human  depravity  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and 
when  he  comes  among  us,  let  us  turn  on  him  our  hope  and  pros- 
perity. Do  not  always  go  to  him  with  all  your  little  sorrows 
and  little  troubles.  Especially  bear  this  in  mind  in  your  organ- 
izations. If  the  church  is  in  debt,  bear  the  load  like  men,  and 
so  relieve  the  depressed  mind  of  your  pastor.    But  the  tendency 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


55 


has  been  too  much  for  the  laity  to  look  upon  the  minister  as  a 
man  who  is  to  talk  to  them  or  at  them,  and  the  man  who  is  to 
bleed  them,  and  themselves  as  the  parties  who  are  to  be  talked 
to  or  at,  and  themselves  as  the  parties  to  be  bled.  This  should 
not  be.  There  should  be  that  unity  of  interest,  that  warm- 
hearted sympathy  between  both,  that  when  one  is  touched  the 
other  shall  respond.  The  layman  should  not  be  willing  to  hear 
his  pastor  vilified  by  the  sly  innuendo  that  detraction  with  her 
infamous  tongue,  shall  throw  upon  his  pastor,  but  the  laity 
should  gather  in  a  solid  mass  around  him,  and  stand  by  him, 
when  he  is  right.  When  he  is  wrong,  they  should  seek  to  con- 
sult privately  with  him.  Never  whisper  a  doubt  of  your  pastor 
unless  you  have  first  gone  to  him,  and  consulted  with  him  as  to 
his  duty  in  the  premises.  If  this  were  always  practiced,  there 
would  be  fewer  church  differences,  fewer  pastors  dragged  down 
by  the  weight  of  a  chain  of  doubt  and  despair,  and  wondering 
what  it  is  that  keeps  them  down  to  the  earth.  But  they  are 
chained  thus  by  a  chain  which  is  invisible  to  them,  and  the  lay- 
men have  forgot  it,  and  the  poor  man  goes  staggering  through 
his  ministry,  not  knowing  what  ails  him.  There  is  no  respon- 
sive sympathy  between  them.  The  fault  is  always  wTith  the  lay- 
men, because  the  ministerial  mind  is  so  constructed  that  he 
seeks  counsel,  support  and  sympathy.  Woe  be  to  those  laymen 
who  withhold  it  and  unhappy  is  the  church  where  such  prevails. 
It  is  true  that  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Sometimes  you 
will  find  a  minister  who  is  haughty  and  over-bearing.  These 
are  softly  to  be  reminded  of  their  place.  But  such  is  not  the 
general  case.  We  know  that  they  are  like  ourselves,  and  that 
when  they  are  placed  in  a  position  that  involves  responsibility, 
they  want  us  to  sympathize  with  them. 

Another  special  sphere  for  lay  work  is  in  the  missionary 
cause.  Now  I  like  the  idea  that  has  been  suggested  here  this 
morning,  of  church  action.  Every  church  should  be  a  tho- 
rough' organized  and  fully  equipped  missionary  society,  but  I 
would  not  have  the  action  of  the  church  restricted  within  its 
own  limits.  What  is  the  church  ?  The  Baptist  church  is  not  a 
single  church  with  a  single  minister,  but  all  the  family  of  Bap- 
tist churches  ; — one  grand  whole,  with  different  ministers,  with 
different  houses  of  worship,  with  different  congregations,  with 
different  memberships,  but  all  bound  together  by  a  glowing 
chain  of  love,  to  serve  the  common  Master,  to  rejoice  in  a  com- 
mon Lord,  by  practicing  a  common  baptism,  by  resting  serenely 


56 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


and  securely  in  a  common  faith.  Now  each  church  within  its 
limits  should  be  a  missionary  society,  but  it  should  also  associ- 
ate itself  with  other  churches,  and  so  add  to  its  usefulness,  in- 
crease its  earnestness  and  augment  its  power,  and  produce  more 
effects  than  it  can  in  its  single  office,  not  only  in  the  missionary 
field  at  home,  but  in  foreign  lands.  It  is  for  the  laymen  to  ad- 
vise, to  minister,  to  contribute,  to  labor,  always  in  harmony  with 
the  views  of  his  ministerial  brethren.  It  is  the  laymen  who 
should  look  for  the  integrity  of  the  property.  Here  I  beg  to 
digress  for  a  moment. 

We  have  heard  of  the  danger  of  property  passing  from  the 
hands  of  the  denomination.  Dr.  Evarts  has  said  that  the  ten- 
dency has  been  that  we  were  so  independent,  so  dreadfully  in- 
dependent, that  we  have  lost  money  by  unwisely  investing  in 
property.  We  have  in  New  York  an  association  which  embraces 
all  the  churches  of  New  York  and  some  of  its  suburbs.  When- 
ever any  property  is  purchased  with  the  funds  of  the  denomina- 
tion, that  property  is  vested  in  the  trustees  of  the  association,  a 
body  which  cannot  die,  which  is  continually  in  existence  ;  and 
we  shall  no  longer  be  like  men  pouring  water  in  a  sieve.  The 
looseness  has  been  perfectly  appalling  in  the  Baptist  church.  It 
reminds  me  of  the  story  of  the  man  who  went  home  late  at 
night  somewhat  inebriated.  He  staggered  into  the  drawing- 
room  and  said,  "  wife,  I  would  like  a  drink  of  milk."  She  told 
him  it  was  in  the  closet.  He  fumbled  about  the  closet  for  a 
while,  but  did  not  find  it.  Said  he,  "  wife,  is  that  milk  done  up 
in  anvthing  in  particular,  or  is  it  lying  around  loose?"  (Laugh- 
ter.) The  affairs  of  the  Baptist  denomination  have  been  lying 
around  loose.  They  have  not  been  placed  in  any  vessel.  We 
have  now  a  vessel  for  the  property,  so  that  there  is  now  no  dan- 
ger of  its  being  taken  for  any  but  the  purposes  for  which  it  was 
given. 

The  Sunday  School  is  another  field  of  labor  for  the  laymen. 
Oh,  my  friends,  there  is  no  advantage  so  great  as  that  which  we 
have  in  getting  hold  of  the  infant  mind,  in  establishing  the 
truth  in  the  infant  mind.  Satan  himself  never  invented  a  drag- 
hook  by  which  he  could  eradicate  these  truths  after  a  lodgment 
in  the  infant  mind.  Cares  and  sorrows  and  struggles  may  seem 
to  destrov  it,  but  the  germ  is  there  and  at  the  time  of  extremest 
depression,  when  the  poor  man  may  think  that  he  is  forsaken  by 
God  and  man,  then  often  there  will  come  up  to  him  some  pre- 
<  ions  verse  of  scripture  which  shall  save  his  wounded  spirit  and 


Baptist  Social 'U  nionS. 


send  him  on  his  way  rejoicing.  It  may  be  that  a  criminal  course 
of  life  shall  seem  to  eradicate  all  these  precious  seeds,  but  often 
at  the  last  moment  the  occupant  of  the  felon's  cell  may  recall 
the  precious  words  that  even  he  may  come  to  the  Saviour. 

It  is  the  peculiar  promise  of  the  layman  to  seize  opportuni- 
ties. How  many  of  us  in  all  our  life  have  seized  our  opportu- 
nities? How  they  fly  past  us  and  escape  our  hold,  because  we 
are  not  on  the  alert  to  seize  them.  What  is  everybody's  business 
is  nobody's  business,  but  let  the  laity  make  it  their  special  busi- 
ness to  seize  all  the  opportunities  to  promote  His  Glory  and 
advance  His  Kingdom.  Xow  an  opportunity  is  about  to  present 
itself  which  the  laity  should  take  hold  of.  In  a  few  more  re- 
volving suns,  there  will  be  a  Centennial  Anniversary  of  this 
country.  Here  I  should  like  to  have  about  fifteen  minutes  to 
fling  the  starry  banner  and  let  the  eagle  fly  high.  Let  us  look 
at  it  brethren.  I  have  heard  it  whispered  that  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination actuallv  thinks  of  raising  a  million  or  two  of  dollars 
for  the  cause  of  education.  Hang  your  heads  with  shame  if 
this  is  all  you  dare  to  try.  A  million  or  two  of  dollars  !  Hang 
the  heavens  with  black  if  the  Baptist  denomination  dare  try  no 
more  than  that.  (A  Voice  : — We  will  raise  a  million  in  this 
State).  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  this  State  is  relied  upon  for  a 
million. 

Let  us  see  what  other  denominations  have  done,  denomina- 
tions weaker  than  we.  with,  as  we  claim  perhaps  arrogantlv,  a 
weaker  faith  than  we.  The  Presbyterian  Memorial  Fund  was 
raised  in  the  years  1S70-71,  embracing  a  part  of  each  year.  The 
June  session  recommended  that  $5,000,000  should  be  raised. 
$5,000,000  !  The  purposes  for  which  this  money  should  be  dis- 
tributed was  to  be  local  church  debts,  new  edifices  and  Sundav 
School  rooms,  missions  of  all  sorts  and  for  religious  education. 
Xow  what  was  the  result  ?  Why,  they  aimed  high,  and  as  the 
result  they  went  higher.  They  raised  for  educational  purposes 
about  32.000,000.  I  think  even  my  friend  Dr.  Cutting  would 
be  satisfied  with  that.  Altogether  they  raised  87-533.983,84. 
Why  ?  Because  they  were  in  earnest.  Because  thev  dared 
great  things,  they  did  great  things.  Xow  the  Presbvterian 
Church  has  a  membership  of  about  450,000.  This  was  nearly 
all  raised  in  eleven  months,  and  here  we  dilatory  Baptists  may 
find  some  hope,  though  I  hope  we  will  not  follow  their  example. 
They  had  less  than  a  million  contributed  six  weeks  before  the 
closing  of  the  books.    Let  us  imitate  their  devoted,  self-sacrilic- 


58 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


ing  spirit,  bnt  not  their  procrastination.  There  was  expended 
for  new  church  buildings  §3.000,000;  for  repairs  of  churches 
3746,000;  for  parsonages  §69,000;  for  institutions  of  learning 
§1.460,000;  for  payment  of  debts,  §1.108,000 ;  for  foreign  mis- 
sions, §91,000;  for  hospitals,  §49,000;  for  relief  fund,  §44,000. 
What  do  you  think  the  whole  expense  of  collecting  this  was? 
§13,407.98.  Now  this  was  accomplished, — a  wonderful  result, — 
at  a  very  small  cost.  The  congregations  increased  in  member- 
ship 76,502 ;  more  than  any  previous  year.  While  this  vast 
effort  was  being  made,  outside  the  regular  organization  for  ben- 
evolent purposes,  this  regular  organization  did  not  shrink,  but 
had  a  more  glorious  harvest  than  ever  before,  to  the  amount  of 
76,502.  But  you  will  perhaps  say  that  the  Presbyterian  Church 
is  a  small  and  compact  organization  witjb  many  wealthy  men, 
and  you  may  begin  to  button  your  pocket  books  a  little  tight- 
er and  say  they  could  afford  it,  that  they  have  the  merchant 
princes  and  those  who  rank  high  in  the  State. 

Let  us  look  at  another  denomination,  the  Methodist  denomi- 
nation. I  do  not  think  that  we  Baptists  are  accustomed  to  look 
up  much  to  the  Methodists;  I  won't  presume  to  say  that  we 
look  down  upon  them,  but  we  look  upon  them  on  a  level.  Let 
us  see  what  thev  did.  The  General  Conference  recommended 
that  some  organized  effort  be  made,  and  Dr.  Stevens  was  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  the  plans,  and  certainly  it  was  done  with 
wisdom  and  skill.  The  ministers  by  preaching  and  the  children 
in  the  Sunday  School, — They  contributed  §60,000.  Their  pur- 
pose was  for  local  objects,  academies,  seminaries,  new  and  young 
churches,  general  objects,  education,  theological  and  collegiate 
and  for  local  church  extension.  The  result  was  that  they  raised 
for  general  purposes  over  §8.000,000.  Now  don't  begin  to  groan 
and  say,  don't  expect  so  much  from  us.  That  is  only  a  part  ot 
what  thev  did.  For  local  purposec  there  was  raised  §11.000,000, 
and  for  the  payment  of  church  debts  there  was  raised  §10.000,000 
more.    Now  the  membership  at  that  time  was  1.032,184. 

Now  what  is  the  membership  of  the  Baptist  denomination? 
Here  were  something  over  §30.000,000  raised  by  the  Methodists. 
Now  what  do  the  Baptists  intend  to  do?  This  organization 
numbers  one  million  and  a  half.  While  all  this  was  going  on, 
all  this  begging  and  bleeding,  what  was  the  effect  upon  the 
churches?  Were  they  stinted  in  growth?  By  no  means.  The 
increase  in  membership  in  1866  was  102,000;  in  1S67,  113,987; 
and  in  1868,  109,034.    And  the  cost  of  raising  all  these  funds 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


59 


was  just  $15,000.  Now,  friends,  here  is  a  great  work  before  us, 
and  let  us  see,  that  not  only  the  temporal  interests  of  the  church 
were  advanced,  not  only  debts,  crushing,  grinding,  exhausting 
debts,  were  wiped  out,  but  that  while  all  this  was  going  on,  the 
immortal  interests  of  the  church  were  groetly  advanced.  Now  I 
say  to  you,  men  and  women  of  the  Baptist  Church,  shall  you  be 
encouraged  or  disheartened  by  these  examples  ?  Shall  you  be  in- 
cited to  go  and  do  likewise  ?  Raise  your  millions.  To  advance 
higher  and  higher  the  banner  of  the  Baptist  cause,  and  with  it 
all,  to  advance  still  higher  than  all  the  banner  of  Christ,  drawing 
in  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  into  the  warm  bosom  of  the 
Baptist  Church  the  aliens  and  strangers, — is  this  the  work  be- 
fore us  for  the  Centennial  ?  Then  indeed  will  our  starry  ban- 
ner flutter  its  folds,  and  that  bird  which  is  the  emblem  of  our 
freedom  soar  higher  and  higher,  where  he  shall  exult  over  a 
country  capable  of  great  things,  in  which  Presbyterians  have 
done  great  things,  in  which  Methodists  have  done  great  things, 
and  in  which  are  Baptists  who  are  capable  of  doing  great  things. 
Then  shall  Ave  be  able  to  say  more  and  more,  that  we  are  proud 
of  being  American  citizens.  (Applause).  I  should  be  doing 
injustice  to  myself,  if  I  did  not  say  that  for  these  statistics  I  am 
indebted  to  my  esteemed  friend,  Dr.  Armitage. 

The  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization  pre- 
sented a  report,  saying  that  in  their  judgment,  a  meeting 
should  be  held  next  year,  wherever  the  Convention  may 
be  invited  to  meet,  and  that  the  time  and  the  topics 
should  be  under  the  control  of  the  Committee  of  such 
Union  as  shall  invite  the  presence  of  the  Convention. 

Mr.  Andrews  : — I  wish  to  propose  another  resolution 
which  occurred  to  me  while  Mr.  Jones  was  reading,  that  the 
President  of  each  Social  Union  be  requested  to  present  his  name 
and  address  to  the  officers  of  the  Boston  Union,  so  that  it  may 
be  possible  to  communicate  with  each  one. 

Gov.  Broome,  of  New  York,  (late  of  Florida)  : — I  should 
regret  very  much,  sir,  to  see  that  motion  lost.  My  heart  re- 
sponded most  earnestly  this  morning  to  the  suggestion  for  a 
National  organization.  I  have  been  greatly  interested  in  listen- 
ing to  the  remarks  made  by  brethren  from  all  sections  of  this 
country,  but  I  find  that  beyond  Washington  city  there  is  a  vast 


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Proceedings  of  Convention 


section  of  country  which  has  no  delegate  on  this  floor.  There 
is  an  alienation  which  it  becomes  the  Baptist  denomination  to 
wipe  out,  and  bring  that  section  in.  It  is,  perhaps,  presumption 
in  me  to  undertake  to  discuss  a  question  of  this  kind  without 
preparation,  but  I  do  know  that  of  all  the  sections  in  this  coun- 
try that  need  the  influence  of  the  Baptist  Social  Union,  the 
country  lying  beyond  Washington  City  needs  it  more  than  any 
other,  and  it  becomes  us  here  to  invite  it  to  that  union.  They 
have  no  such  organization,  but  they  are  working  notwithstand- 
ing, and  it  occurred  to  me  that  though  I  had  never  been  con- 
nected with  any  Union  except  the  Brooklyn,  and  that  recently, 
I  might  be  allowed  to  show  that  Social  Unions  may  be  valuable 
there.  I  remember  on  one  occasion  there  were  a  few  in  a 
region  within  my  knowledge,  who  concluded  that  something 
might  be  done.  The  Baptist  denomination  was  the  power  in 
that  country,  the  religious  power.  We  organized  a  Tract  Soci- 
ety and  raised  $30.  We  have  been  listening  to  remarks  to-day 
about  great  agencies,  but  sometimes  very  small  things  have 
been  made  very  valuable.  We  purchased  a  certain  book  of  the 
Tract  Society,  and  in  three  months  from  that  time  the  Baptist 
denomination  within  that  Association  had  an  increase  of  mem- 
bers of  over  1300,  and  it  was  traced  to  the  interest  which  was 
gotten  up  by  distributing  a  little  tract  that  cost  $30.  On  anoth- 
er occasion,  in  the  town  to  which  I  removed,  we  found  there 
were  but  three  Baptists  of  us.  One  of  the  Baptist  friends  there 
?aid  we  must  organize  a  church.  "  But,"  I  said,  "  we  have  got 
no  minister."  "No  matter,"  he  said,  "we  can  organize;  it 
don't  make  any  difference  about  ministers.  We  are  laymen. 
We  can  organize."  We  adopted  our  Articles  of  Faith,  the  Cove- 
nant, and  opened  a  church.  One  young  man  related  an  experi- 
ence to  us  and  we  sent  for  a  brother  to  baptize  him.  We  never 
closed  our  doors.  "  Now,"  I  said  on  one  occasion,  to  this  brother, 
"  what  are  we  going  to  do  about  a  minister  ?  What  do  you  think 
we  can  give  ?  "  He  said,  about  $1,200.  I  said,  "  where  are  we  go- 
ing to  get  it?  The  Domestic  Board  will  do  it,  but  I  don't  think 
we  ought  to  ask  it."  "  Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "  but  what  they  collect  is 
for  destitute  places."  "  Well,"  I  said,  "  I  don't  consider  that  we 
are  destitute.  How  are  we  going  to  raise  the  $1,200  ?  "  "Well," 
he  said,  "  I  am  going  to  pay  $600  and  expect  you  to  pay  the 
rest."  We  were  blessed,  and  we  built  up  quite  a  church  there. 
That  is  a  section  of  the  country  where  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
superstition.  A  great  many  colored  people  are  there.  When 
I  he  war  came  on  the  church  was  broken  up  and  scattered. 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


61 


Now,  sir,  I  want  to  see  this  body  here  organize  to-day  a 
Baptist  Social  Union  to  cover  this  continent,  if  we  can.  Let  us 
come  together  from  all  sections.  Let  there  be  a  display  of  anx- 
iety for  organizations  all  over  the  country.  My  idea  is  that 
these  organizations  will  be  glorious  in  their  results  beyond  the 
belief  of  any  of  us  here  now.  I  think  this  question  should  not 
be  passed  over  hastily.  (Applause). 

The  President  : — The  chair  is  in  a  dilemma.  The  discus- 
sion has  no  place  here,  but  we  have  the  report  before  us  and 
must  do  something  with  it.  It  is  a  subject  of  paramount  im- 
portance.   The  motion  is  to  adopt  the  report. 

Gov.  Broome  : — I  move  co  strike  out  what  it  contains  and 
insert  just  the  opposite ;  that  we  do  form  such  an  organization. 
The  better  plan  would  probably  be  to  take  a  vote  on  the  report, 
and  if  it  is  not  adopted,  to  cause  the  matter  to  be  re-committed 
with  instructions. 

Dr.  Bright  : — There  is  a  great  deal  of  force  in  the  sugges- 
tions of  the  gentleman  and  also  in  the  report  of  the  committee. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  better  course  would  be  to  recommit  it 
to  the  committee,  with  instructions  to  report  at  the  next  annual 
meeting  of  our  Social  Unions.  It  would  give  some  time  for 
reflection,  and  I  would  move  that  it  be  recommitted  with  in- 
structions to  the  committee  to  report  at  the  next  convention. 

Gov.  Broome  : — With  an  amendment  that  they  report  at 
the  next  annual  Social  Union  a  plan  of  organization. 

Dr.  Bright  : — I  will  not  accept  that. 

Mr.  Jones  : — If  you  choose  to  appoint  a  committee  to  re- 
port at  that  time  you  can.  This  committee  simply  recommends 
that  a  meeting  be  held  next  year,  so  that  brother  Broome's  idea 
can,  if  thought  best,  be  carried  out  at  that  time. 

The  President: — The  question  is  fully  before  you. 

Dr.  Bright  : — I  think  we  can  take  it  for  granted  that  there 
will  be  a  meeting  next  year,  and  that  it  will  be  perfectly  safe  to 
recommit  it  to  the  committee  to  report  at  the  next  annual 
meeting. 

Mr.  Jones: — Dr.  Bright  does  not  consider  that  there  is  no 
power  to  call  such  a  meeting. 


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Proceedings  of  Convention 


Dr.  Bright  : — There  will  be  the  same  power  as  now.  The 
Philadelphia  people  can  call  a  meeting.  (Laughter.) 

Mr.  : — It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  one  objection  to 

a  reference  to  this  committee.  It  was  not  constituted  with  ref- 
erence to  the  consideration  of  such  a  question.  If  the  com- 
mittee is  to  report  at  some  future  time  upon  an  organization  of 
Social  Unions,  such  a  committee  should  be  composed,  it  seems 
to  me,  of  members  from  the  various  sections  of  the  country,  and 
this  present  committee  is  hardly  so  composed.  I  fully  agree 
with  the  suggestion  of  the  brother  at  my  right  that  whatever 
power  there  was  to  call  this  convention,  resides  in  any  other 
Social  Union.  The  Brooklyn  Social  Union,  I  believe,  sent  out 
a  circular  asking  an  expression  of  opinion  on  the  expediency 
of  calling  such  a  meeting,  and  the  responses  were  so  favorable 
that  the  Brooklyn  Social  Union  no  longer  hesitated.  I  think 
we  have  been  eminently  compensated  for  the  pains  which  these 
brethren  took  to  get  this  meeting  together.  The  same  power 
resides  in  any  other  Social  Union.  I  should  question  whether 
we  who  are  now  assembled  were  called  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing a  national  organization.  It  seems  to  me  clear  that  we 
should  fall  back  on  the  spontaneity  of  the  people,  instead  of 
organizing  ourselves  into  a  permanent  body.  We  believe  that 
some  other  Social  Union,  so  disposed,  should  call  a  meeting 
another  year.  Then  the  topics  to  be  considered  will  be  pre- 
sented by  the  committee  of  that  Union,  in  their  circular,  and 
the  brethren,  in  that  way  will  be  better  prepared  to  take  action. 
It  seems  to  me,  although  the  report  is  a  little  loose,  it  reaches 
substantially  a  desirable  end.  If  it  is  desirable  to  have  these 
institutions  annually,  we  shall  certainly  have  them.  This  meet- 
ing so  far  has  been  very  interesting,  and  it  is  probable  that  there 
will  be  another  called,  and  they  will  be  called  so  long  as  they 
have  something  to  do,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  we  shall  be  as 
well  off  by  leaving  this  where  the  committee  leaves  it  as  any 
way. 

Dr.  Bright  withdrew  his  motion  and  the  report  of 
the  eommittee  was  adopted. 

The  President  : — I  think  under  the  circumstances  you  will 
pardon  the  chair  for  a  single  suggestion.  We  have  very  nearly 
had  the  play  of  Hamlet,  with  the  part  of  the  Danish  Prince 
omitted.    We  are  surrounded  by  evidences  of  the  energy  and 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


63 


enterprise  and  hospitality  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union, 
but  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  were  absolutely  pervaded  by  this 
it  did  not  occur  to  anybody  to  think  to  ask  for  a  report  from 
the  Brooklyn  Social  Union,  and  so  I  call  upon  Mr.  Dorman  for 
a  brief  account  of  its  doings. 

Mr.  Dorman  : — If  you  will  excuse  me,  brother  Capwell  is 
the  Mercurius  of  the  Union,  and  he  will  give  a  report. 

Mr.  Capwell: — The  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union  is  very 
small  in  comparison  with  its  Yankee  grand-mother  in  Boston. 
I  am  not  much  surprised  that  the  President  over-looked  its  exis- 
tence. We  don't  profess  to  be  very  much.  We  were  organized  in 
1869,  and  entered  at  once  upon  such  work  as  we  could  find  to  do. 
We  patterned  after  the  Yankee  notion  of  having  a  Social  Union 
for  laymen.  Our  pastors  in  this  city  have  a  Minister's  Union,  but 
they  never  invited  us  to  join  them.  We  never  exclude  them.  We 
did  have  one  who  was  dissatisfied,  but  lie  moved  away.  The 
greatest  lack  that  laymen  in  Brooklyn  have  felt,  and  that  was 
the  real  cause  of  the  organization  of  the  Union,  was  time.  We 
have  not  time  enough.  Business  men  at  their  offices  and  stores 
were  waited  upon  by  ten  thousand  and  one  men,  who  desired  to 
place  before  them  objects  in  themselves  proper,  but  there  was 
not  time  to  listen  to  them  all.  So  they  considered  it  better  to 
come  together  once  a  month,  and  have  these  objects  presented 
before  them  all  at  one  time.  That  was  one  of  the  foundation 
principles  of  our  organization.  The  social  element  entered  into 
it  of  course.  We  have  had  before  us  very  many  of  the  chief  ob- 
jects of  benevolence  and  charity,  not  only  of  our  own  city  and 
state,  but  of  our  country,  and  we  have  given  them  a  hearing,  and 
have  done  what  we  could  in  obtaining  the  facts  and  preparing 
ourselves  to  give  when  the  time  came.  I  do  not  know  that  our 
Social  Union  ever  had  a  thought  of  an  Educational  Convention, 
until  a  D.D.  gave  us  a  hint,  when  we  invited  to  Brooklyn  the 
Educational  Convention  of  1870.  If  we  had  done  nothing  else 
than  making  possible  such  a  gathering,  we  might  say  we  have 
not  existed  in  vain.  At  our  regular  monthly  meetings  it  has 
not  been  our  custom  to  invite  the  ladies,  but  at  the  annual  meet- 
ings we  have  done  this.  During  one  year  we  did  have  our  wives 
and  daughters  with  us  at  severel  monthly  meetings,  but  we  did 
not  do  much  business.  That  is  between  ourselves.  (Laughter.) 
But  we  are  sound  on  the  Woman  Question,  for  our  first  Presi- 
dent read  before  this  Union  recently,  a  most  thorough  and  ex- 


64 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


haustive  argument  on  that  subject,  and  we  all  agreed  with  him. 
We  are  right  on  that  subject.  We  invite,  by  general  resolution, 
the  pastors  of  all  our  churches  in  Brooklyn  to  be  present  at 
our  meetings.  We  give  them  a  chance  to  talk,  and  sometimes 
they  do  talk  more  than  laymen,  but  that  is  our  fault. 

This  gathering  in  its  results  upon  us  will  no  doubt  be  ben- 
eficial. I  wish  to  say  just  this.  In  listening  to  what  was  said 
this  forenoon,  it  strikes  me  that  it  is  impossible  to  adopt  any  one 
rule  that  shall  apply  to  all  the  Social  Unions  in  our  country. 
The  Social  Union  in  New  York  City,  or  in  Brooklyn,  or  in 
Boston,  is  a  very  different  thing  from  the  Social  Unions  in  the 
rui  al  districts,  or  in  our  newer  states.  Our  Social  Union  must  be 
adapted  to  our  circumstances,  and  so  in  other  places.  It  is  only 
the  general  features  and  general  work  of  the  Social  Union  that 
we  can  agree  upon. 

A  Brother  : — What  is  your  admission  fee? 

Mr.  Capwell: — We  started  with  an  admission  fee  of  $15 
and  $12  annual  dues,  but  now  they  are  $5  and  $12.  Our  num- 
ber I  think  is  75,  perhaps  a  little  larger  number.  We  meet  on 
the  third  Thursday  of  each  month,  except  the  summer  months, 
July,  August,  and  September.  I  should  have  said  that  one 
work  which  has  been  before  us  is  providing  for  the  infirm  and 
needy  in  our  churches,  by  establishing  in  Brooklyn  an  institu- 
tion where  all  the  deserving  infirm  and  needy  in  connection 
with  our  churches,  may  be  provided  with  a  comfortable  home, 
support,  employment,  medical  treatment,  religious  and  church 
privileges.  We  have  nearly  completed  one  portion  of  our 
structure  on  the  corner  of  Greene  and  Throop  Avenues  in  this 
city,  which  will  cost  us,  with  the  lots,  nearly  $100,000.  That 
has  been  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  Brooklyn  Union.  (Applause.) 

It  was  moved  and  seconded  that  the  Convention 
proceed  to  the  discussion  of  the  next  question, 

"  The  Place  of  Education  in  our  Denominational  Activities, 
with  special  reference  to  the  Present  Duties 
of  American  Baptists." 

The  motion  was  adopted,  and  the  Rev.  Lemuel 
Moss,  D.D.,  President  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  was 
introduced  as  the  first  speaker. 


Baptist  Social  Unions, 


65 


I  am  asked  to  speak  to  this  topic:  "  The  Place  of  Education 
in  our  Denomi 'national  Activities,  with  special  reference  to  our  Present 
Duties  as  Baptists." 

I.  I  suppose  that  the  activities  of  any  Christian  denomina- 
tion may  be  said  to  have  reference,  first,  to  the  edification  of  its 
members  ;  second,  to  the  conversion  to  its  views  of  those  who  are 
not  associated  with  it ;  and  third,  to  the  general  elevation  and 
improvement  of  society,  in  all  its  material,  mental  and  moral 
interests.  The  chief  agencies  by  which  these  aims  are  sought 
are,  first,  the  local  church  with  its  stated  services,  its  significant 
ordinances,  and  all  that  enters  into  its  church  work  ;  second,  the 
Christian  ministry,  as  furnishing  the  pastors  and  teachers  for 
these  local  churches,  and  as  furnishing  the  leaders  for  all  Evan- 
gelical work  at  home  and  abroad ;  third,  the  local  and  general 
religious  associations  that  may  be  found  expedient  in  order  to 
supplement  the  work  of  the  churches  and  to  carry  on  the  various 
forms  of  denominational  activity  ;  and  fourth,  all  those  influences 
which  result,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  social  and  business 
intercourse,  with  the  various  philanthropic  institutions,  that  it 
may  be  found  expedient  to  establish  for  the  embodiment  and 
permanence  of  these  influences.  Now  if  we  can  state  the  place 
of  education  with  reference  to  these  several  aims  and  agencies, 
we  have  answered  approximately  the  question  as  to  the  place  of 
education  in  the  activities  ot  any  denomination. 

1.  Education  sustains  a  very  close  and  vital  relation  to  the 
edification,  that  is,  to  the  growth  and  perfection,  of  the  individ- 
ual Christian.  Christianity  is  not  culture,  culture  is  not  Chris- 
tianity ;  and  yet  they  are  very  closely,  very  vitally  connected. 
The  Christian  is  the  subject  of  a  supernatural  life.  He  has 
been  born  again,  born  of  God ;  Dut  he  needs  culture,  training, 
discipline  and  education  for  his  perfection,  for  the  development 
of  all  his  intellectual  powers,  for  his  full  equipment  for  service, 
that  he  may  be  prepared  to  undertake  and  to  do  all  that  is  ex- 
pected of  him  as  a  Christian  man  ;  and  education  is  intended  to 
carry  out  to  its  completion  that  process  of  intellectual  and  moral 
development  which  is  begun  in  the  new  birth.  For  one,  I  will 
not  admit  that  there  can  be  a  complete  and  symmetrical  Chris- 
tianity without  culture,  nor  will  I  admit  thai  there  can  be  a  true 
culture  whose  roots  and  motives  do  not  spring  from  Christianity. 
We  do  wrong  every  time  we  allow  these  intimately  associated 
ideas  to  be  disassociated.  We  claim  that  Christianity  furnishes 
the  one  true  culture,  and  that  culture  is  necessary  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  intention  and  aim  of  the  Christian  life. 


66  Proceedings  of  Convention 


When  I  speak  of  culture,  of  course  I  do  not  mean  exclusive- 
ly what  is  called  school  culture.  There  are  a  thousand  things 
which  enter  into  the  development  of  the  Christian  life.  I  am 
prepared  to  say  that  in  many  important  respects  many  of  these 
great  influences  are  but  auxiliary  to  the  Home.  I  think  the 
Christian  Home  is  the  brightest  product  of  our  Christian  civili- 
zation ;  that  it  is  in  itself,  it  must  be,  the  centre  and  source  of 
the  highest  influences  by  which  we  can  cultivate  and  mould  the 
mind  and  heart;  but  still,  as  a  part  of  the  auxiliary  agency  of 
the  Home  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  work,  are  these  higher 
schools,  whose  office  it  is  to  perfect  and  strengthen  those  moral 
and  intellectual  energies,  those  faculties  and  powers,  which  have 
been  started  in  us  by  the  new  life,  by  the  incoming  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

2.  The  relation  of  education  to  the  Christian  ministry  I 
do  not  need  to  discuss,  except  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  gene- 
ral training  needed  for  the  ministry,  rather  than  to  the  special, 
technical  education.  I  think  it  is  necessary  that  our  ministers 
should  be  broader  than  their  profession.  The  "  man  "  in  them 
should  be  much  larger  than  the  "  minister  "  in  them.  We  have 
paid  too  exclusive  attention,  perhaps,  to  the  strictly  professional, 
technical  training  of  our  men  for  the  Christian  ministry.  I  take 
it  that  any  man  that  is  not  larger  than  his  profession  is  in  him- 
self a  failure. 

It  is  proposed,  in  the  work  of  these  Social  Unions,  to  bring 
the  membership  of  our  churches  closer  together,  so  that  they 
can  look  at  each  other  from  a  new  point  of  view,  and  have  a 
deeper  sympathy  with  each  other.  I  may  be  permitted  to  ex- 
press the  idea  that  our  educational  societies  are  making  a  mis- 
take in  confining  their  aid  to  students  for  the  Christian  ministry. 
(Applause).  They  make  a  mistake,  because  they  often  appeal  to 
a  young  man,  too  young  to  know  his  own  mind,  too  young  to 
interpret  the  indications  of  the  Master's  will,  and  they  tempt 
him  to  commit  himself  to  the  Christian  ministry,  when  he  ought 
not  be  asked  to  commit  himself  to  anything.  Oftentimes  he  is 
drawn  into  special  courses  of  study,  into  plans  for  future  work, 
yielding  indeed  to  the  highest  and  noblest  impulses  of  the  re- 
newed heart;  but  he  errs  through  a  mistaken  judgment,  and 
finds  himself  by  and  by  unfitted  for  the  ministry,  and  unfitted 
for  anything  else.  Good  work  anywhere  else  is  just  as  good  as 
good  work  in  the  pulpit.  All  alike  may  be  God's  work.  I  do 
not  know  why  we  should  not  extend  a  hand  to  the  poor  and 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


67 


struggling  youth,  of  both  sexes,  that  are  seeking  to  qualify 
themselves  for  service  in  Christ's  Kingdom  ;  and  I  do  not  know 
that  we  are  justified  by  anything  found  in  the  Scriptures  or  in 
Christian  history,  to  say  to  the  generous,  aspiring,  longing, 
hard-working  youth,  "  we  will  help  you  if  you  study  for  the 
ministry,  but  we  will  not  if  you  don't."  We  are  trying  to  raise, 
in  connection  with  the  University  of  Chicago,  a  fund  to  be  used 
as  a  Loan  Fund,  for  the  help  of  students,  without  regard  to 
their  "race,  color,  sex  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.'' 
(Applause). 

So  I  say  that  the  only  consideration  we  need  now  to  dwell 
upon,  is  to  have  in  mind  more  distinctly  the  need  of  the  Chris- 
tian minister  for  a  broader  and  more  generous  culture.  And 
when  I  say  this,  I  wish  to  supplement  it  by  saying  that  the 
Christian  ministry  is  doing  more  than  any  other  profession  to 
sustain  a  high  grade  of  liberal  culture  throughout  the  country. 
The  other  learned  professions  are  delinquent — are  doing  them- 
selves and  all  of  us  injury  by  the  small  amount  of  literary  and 
general  culture  which  they  require  for  entrance  into  their  ranks. 
A  man  may  go  into  a  Law  School  with  very  little  preparatory 
study.  He  may  so  .go  into  a  Medical  School.  He  may  so  go 
into  the  grievously  misnamed  "Business  Colleges;"  but  it  is 
very  difficult  for  him  to  go  into  the  Theological  Seminary  with- 
out collegiate  training. 

3.  In  the  propagation  of  Christianity,  at  home  and  abroad, 
Education  is  one  of  the  most  important  agencies.  The  Chris- 
tian Church  is  a  missionary  body.  It  is  a  missionary  body  all 
through,  by  its  very  constitution.  The  Christian  man  is  a  mis- 
sionary, if  he  is  anything.  I  think  we  ought  to  insist  upon  it 
that  education  shall  be  an  integral  part  of  our  missionary  forces, 
it  ought  to  be  insisted  upon  as  one  of  the  essential  features  of 
our  work,  in  order  to  make  it  permanent.  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say,  here  or  elsewhere,  that  one  of  the  mistakes, — not  perhaps  a 
very  bad  mistake,  but  pardon  me,  still  a  mistake, — is  the  com- 
parative emphasis  we  place  upon  conversion — the  beginning  of 
the  new  life — and  the  correspondingly  slight  stress  which  we 
place  upon  the  thorough  training  of  our  converts.  (Applause). 
I  may  here  repeat  what  I  have  elsewhere  said :  We  boast  of  the 
magnitude  and  numbers  and  extent  of  our  glorious  Baptist  de- 
nomination, but  I  should  be  willing  to  sacrifice  very  largely 
of  the  numbers  if  it  could  be  made  up  to  us  entirely  in  moral 
power  and  genuine  Christian  beneficence.    So  I  say  we  must 


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labor  for  permanent  results.  Our  aim  must  be  the  complete  re- 
newal of  the  entire  man,  of  the  entire  society  of  which  the  man 
is  a  member.  So  I  think,  that  with  reference  to  our  Evangeliz- 
ing work,  at  home  and  abroad,  we  ought  to  insist  to  the  furthest 
extent  possible  upon  this  idea  of  culture,  of  education,  of  dis- 
cipline, of  development  of  the  mind  and  of  the  heart,  which 
alike  are  renewed  by  the  Gospel,  and  belong  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Thus  shall  the  renewed  and  cultured  man  and  woman  weigh 
the  utmost  possible,  in  the  social  forces  for  the  elevation  of  the 
race. 

4.  Finally,  we  come  to  the  relation  of  Education  to  our  so- 
cial work.  What  influences  are  we  called  upon  to  exert  as 
members  of  Society?  I  am  very  glad  that  these  Social  Unions 
are  prompting  and  guiding  the  thought  with  reference  to  our 
social  relations,  that  we  as  Christians  are  none  the  less  men, 
and,  as  such,  members  of  society,  having  rights  and  privileges 
and  duties  in  society.  I  wish  that  our  denomination  would 
profit  by  the  consideration  that  we  as  a  people  have  something 
to  do  in  the  elevation  and  up-building  of  our  society  as  a  whole- 
If  we  have  bad  men  in  the  State  Legislature  or  in  the  Municipal 
Councils,  or  in  the  National  Congress,  we  are  to  a  certain  extent 
responsible  for  it.  (Applause).  If  we  have  bad  citizens  any- 
where, doing  bad  work  ;  if  we  have  bad  mechanics,  dishonest 
merchants  or  public  scoundrels;  if  we  have  anything  that  nau- 
seates or  offends  or  sets  back  society  in  its  intellectual  or  moral 
growth,  we  are  to  a  certain  extent  responsible  for  it;  because 
our  obligation  is  to  make  good  men  and  women,  with  trained 
hearts  and  trained  brains,  that  shall  be  able  to  do  the  honest 
work  of  every-day  life,  wherever  it  may  be  found.  It  seems  to 
me  that  this  is  the  thought  we  must  get  hold  of,  and  hold  on  to 
it  until  we  can  burn  it  into  the  mind  of  every  man  and  woman 
and  child  connected  with  our  churches  and  congregations  and 
Sunday-schools.  I  like  to  hear  good  preaching  and  singing  and 
Sunday-school  addresses.  I  like  all  these  pleasant  things.  But 
I  do  say  that  the  first,  the  second,  the  third  and  the  last,  the  be- 
ginning, middle  and  end  of  all  this  Christian  movement  is  the 
training  of  men  and  women  with  reference  to  the  duties  and  ac- 
tivities of  life.  (Applause).  Jesus  Christ  prayed,  "  I  pray,  not 
that  Thou  shouldst  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  Thou 
shouldst  keep  them  from  the  evil  one."  He  asks  us  to  take 
care  of  the  world  here,  and  the  next  world  will  be  our  reward. 
Let  us  have,  if  not  less  of  the  next  world,  at  least  very  much 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


69 


more  of  the  world  here  given  us  to  conquer,  redeem  and  sancti- 
fy. Let  us  think  and  sing,  if  not  a  great  deal  less  about  Heaven, 
at  least  a  great  deal  more  about  work  on  earth,  by  which  the 
earth  is  to  be  prepared  for  Heaven. 

We  must  educate.  We  must  educate.  The  day  is  forever 
gone  by  when  the  question  can  be  discussed  whether  or  not 
there  shall  be  offered  to  society  trained  men  and  women  to 
assist  and  lead  and  guide  it.  The  only  question  is  whether  we 
will  do  our  part  towards  furnishing  these  men  and  women.  If 
we  will  not,  then  the  sceptre  of  power  may  pass  from  us.  I  pray 
that  God  will  take  from  us  all  the  influence  and  power  we  have, 
if  we  refuse  to  recognize  our  opportunity  and  rightly  improve  it, 

II.  The  present  duty  of  Baptists,  if  these  positions  are  cor- 
rect, is  merely  this :  In  the  first  place,  to  recognize  and  to  in- 
sist upon  this  as  the -true  place  of  education  with  reference  to 
the  individual  edification  of  the  Christian,  with  reference  to  the 
training  of  the  minister,  with  reference  to  our  Evangelistic  and 
social  work.  If  this  is  the  place  of  genuine  Christian  education, 
then  let  us  recognize  it  and  insist  upon  it.  Let  us  not  admit 
that  there  can  be  any  true  culture  save  Christian  culture,  and 
let  us  not  allow  the  sceptre  of  power  which  is  now  in  our  hands 
to  pass  away  from  us.  (Applause).  Then  again,  secondly,  let  us 
see  to  it  that  our  institutions  of  learning,  through  which  we  are 
seeking  to  do  this  work,  be  so  established,  and  so  fostered  and  so 
guided,  as  that  they  may  be  able  to  accomplish  worthily  the 
work  which  we  exact  of  them.  (Applause). 

Prof.  Greene,  of  Providence : — In  hearing  the  representa- 
tives which  have  come  from  the  different  Social  Unions,  I  believe 
in  almost  every  case  something  has  been  said  in  relation  to 
efforts  made  to  endow  our  institutions,  to  encourage  efforts  for 
the  education  of  our  people,  and  to  promote  all  Christian  en- 
deavors which  engage  the  attention  of  the  Baptist  people.  But 
there  is  one  other  point  that  I  have  been  listening  to  with  an 
earnest  desire  to  hear  some  one  speak  upon,  and  that  is,  that 
among  the  activities  of  our  churches  and  of  our  Social  Unions, 
there  shall  be  an  effort  made  to  select  suitable  young  men,  to 
encourage  those  young  men  who  give  promise  for  the  future  to 
come  forward  from  their  obscurity,  and  to  enter  upon  a  course 
of  instruction  ;  that  our  social  unions  or  some  of  our  institu- 
tions shall  take  it  in  hand  and  look  up  these  young  men 
of  promise,  and  while  they  are  boys,  while  yet  in  the  pri- 
mary schools;  and  if  they  shall  discover  in  them  any  who  have 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


the  proper  talent  to  be  educated,  a  promise  for  the  future  which 
shall  warrant  an  effort  to  bring  them  forward,  to  encourage 
them  in  a  course  of  study  for  the  future.  I  believe  that  in  our 
efforts  to  raise  young  men  for  our  institutions,  we  have  forgot- 
ten this  vital  part  of  the  work.  Money  alone  will  never  make 
a  good  college  or  academy.  We  want  young  men  and  young 
women  who  are  brought  forward  by  a  careful  nurture,  before 
they  enter  these  higher  institutions.  We  want  the  judgment 
and  discrimination  of  those  who  are  older  and  who  have  the 
chance  to  see  the  character  of  these  before  they  go  forward.  I 
believe  it  can  be  done — to  encourage  these  young  men,  lead 
them  forward,  until,  if  they  develop  themselves,  they  shall  be 
encouraged  to  enter  the  higher  institutions.  It  has  been  said 
in  many  of  our  colleges,  many  a  young  man  has  come  there  who 
never  should  have  entered.  We  have  spoiled  a  good  mechanic 
to  make  a  poor  minister.  He  should  have  been  encouraged  to 
go  into  some  other  kind  of  business.  I  was  very  glad  to  hear 
from  the  speaker  who  has  just  taken  his  seat,  an  allusion  to  the 
point  that  no  restricted  course  should  be  laid  out  in  respect  to 
our  young  people,  but  that  encouragement  should  be  given  to 
all  those  who  have  in  mind  the  Christian  ministry.  We  have 
given  an  exclusive  attention  to  this  last  class  of  young  men.  It 
would  seem  to  imply,  though,  that  a  young  man  needs  not  edu- 
cation for  anything  else ;  that  the  young  men  who  spring  up 
under  our  influence  are  not  to  take  positions  of  trust  in  society ; 
that  we  do  not  need  young  men  to  enter  into  our  business 
positions.  This  is  one  of  the  mistakes  which  we  have  made. 
How  many  a  community  has  been  moved  and  encouraged  by 
the  young  men  who  have  been  educated,  and  who  are  in  the 
banking  office  or  the  railroad  office.  He  has  his  social  influence 
in  the  church  and  in  the  community.  That  influence  is  some- 
times felt  even  more  than  we  would  confess.  The  point  I  would 
make  is  this — while  I  should  be  ready  to  help  all  who  come 
before  the  people  to  raise  money  to  endow  our  institutions,  let 
us  not  forget  that  we  need,  besides  money,  young  men  and 
young  women  who  are  the  best  young  men  and  young  women 
to  be  put  in  our  institutions  to  be  educated.  Shall  we  forget 
that  there  may  be  poor  boys  in  the  midst  of  us.  yet  who  show  all 
the  promise  that  is  requisite  to  place  them  in  a  course  of  instruc- 
tion. Let  such  a  boy  know  that  there  will  be  means  provided 
for  his  instruction.  Let  him  be  shown  that  he  has  the  power  to 
go  forward,  and  let  us  encourage  him  to  go  forward  in  this 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


7 


course,  until  we  can  take  him  up  and  put  him  in  the  course  he 
ought  to  study.  I  think  we  shall  do  for  the  denomination  and 
for  society  more  than  we  have  ever  done,  if  we  will  discreetly 
and  carefully  select  our  young  people  who  shall  be  the  proper 
subjects  for  education.  (Applause.) 

Rev.  Dr.  D.  Reed,  of  Brooklyn  : — I  should  like  to  call  atten- 
tion, and  so  to  emphasize  and  impress  it,  to  a  thought  that  has 
been  suggested  by  the  last  speaker,  and  also  by  Dr.  Moss  and 
others.  It  was  spoken  of,  indeed,  last  night,  in  the  admirable 
address  that  we  then  listened  to,  and  that  is,  the  education  of 
women.  I  have  had  some  experience  in  this  work  myself,  and 
have  known  this,  that  in  ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred, 
it  is  impossible  ever  to  get  a  young  man  to  speak  the  English 
language  correctly  or  use  it  fluently,  if  he  has  not  had  a  good 
example  set  before  him  in  his  childhood.  The  young  man  who 
comes  up  from  childhood  under  the  influence  of  an  educated 
mother — he  uses  the  English  language  correctly  and  forcibly  \ 
he  has  his  habits  in  this  respect  fixed.  That  young  man  comes 
to  college  with  an  advantage  which  is  inestimable.  I  have 
really  known  only  one  case  where  a  young  man,  by  studying 
grammar,  has  become  able  to  use  the  language  forcibly  and  vig- 
orously, if  he  had  not  an  example  set  him  at  home.  I  think  we 
must  begin  at  the  foundation,  and  the  foundation  is  here,  at 
home.  If  we  educate  our  young  women,  we  shall  give  an  im- 
pulse to  education  which  hitherto  has  not  been  given  to  it.  I 
trust,  therefore,  that  some  provision  will  be  made  by  us,  by 
which  the  young  women  will  have  all  the  advantages  of  acad- 
emies, colleges,  and  professional  schools.  I  would  have  our 
young  women  have  the  opportunity  to  study  theology  in  the 
seminaries  with  the  young  men.  The  majority  of  our  Sunday 
school  teachers  are  women.  The  majority  of  them  cannot  earn 
as  much  as  the  young  men,  and  they  need,  therefore,  the  ser- 
vices of  education  as  much,  and  more  than  the  young  man  does. 
I  only  wish  to  call  attention  to  these  thoughts  in  connection 
with  young  women,  hoping  thac  possibly  there  might  be  more 
interest  taken  and  more  money  invested  in  this  department. 

Dr.  Bright: — I  believe  that  the  one  great  enterprise  of  the 
Baptist  denomination  that  towers  higher  than  any  other,  that 
reaches  deeper  than  any  other,  is  this  great  work  of  a  higher 
education  for  our  people.  The  great  want  of  our  denomination 
is  men;  men  equal  to  the  positionc  that  call  for  them  ;  men  to 


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fill  the  high  places  that  we  have  to  put  them  in.  And  one  thing 
more  permit  me  to  say.  I  believe  that  the  great  benefactors  of 
the  Baptist  denomination,  are  the  few  royal  laymen  that  we 
have,  who  are  pouring  their  money  into  the  endowments  of  our 
institutions  by  their  tens  of  thousands.  My  excellent  friend  at 
my  left  has  not  the  good  fortune  always  to  agree  with  me.  Some- 
times we  differ,  but  I  have  a  profound  respect  for  the  man  that 
knows  how  to  give  $70,000  at  a  time  to  make  an  institution 
strong  for  a  future  generation.  (Applause.)  I  have  a  profound 
respect  for  a  man  that  knows  how,  and  that  thinks  to  give 
§40,000  or  $50,000  for  a  theological  seminary  in  a  year,  and  said 
that  he  would  be  willing  to  be  one  of  five  to  give  $50,000  to  the 
university  that  was  close  by  ;  and  when  he  found  that  the  other 
four  were  not  coming  up,  I  respect  the  man  from  my  soul,  that 
says  to  the  treasurer  of  that  college,  as  this  friend  said  yester- 
day, "  My  pledge  shall  stand  whether  the  others  pay  or  not. 
Come  to  my  office  to-day,  and  I  will  pay  you  the  810,000."  And 
he  did  it.  And  I  have  great  respect,  too,  for  a  man  like  good 
Col.  Cook,  that  knows  what  it  is  actually  to  make  himself  poor 
for  the  sake  of  leaving  behind  him  an  institution  which  is  strong 
for  the  work  of  preparing  men  lor  a  higher  education.  Col. 
Cook,  of  Havana,  Schuyler  county,  is  worthy  to  be  held  in  rev- 
erence by  our  Baptist  people. 

This  is  all  I  have  to  say.  May  God  bless  every  means  used 
in  this  direction.  It  is  the  one  great  work.  It  is  the  grand  ne- 
cessitv  of  our  people,  to  make  our  institutions  of  learning 
strong,  so  that  when  these  laymen  are  dead,  they  may  speak 
eloquently,  all  these  sublime  men,  in  the  history  of  this  world. 
And  now,  I  hope  we  shall  have  a  word  from  the  friend  on  my 
left,  a  layman  who  knows  what  it  is  to  work  hard  for  the  ben- 
efit of  this  cause.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  J.  B.  Colgate,  of  New  York: — Mr.  Chairman  and  the 
laity:  Pardon  me  for  not  going  back  to  the  old  scripture  term 
of  brethren.  I  am  very  sorry  that  Dr.  Bright  has  made  such  a 
personal  allusion.  It  is  not  well,  it  is  not  pleasant  for  one  to 
speak  of  himself,  but  I  will  make  a  remark  or  two,  and  will  sit 
down.  I  have  always  desired,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  do  my  duty, 
whether  others  may  have  done  theirs  or  not.  (Applause.)  I  always 
felt  that  if  I  had  been  called  by  Christ  into  His  kingdom,  He  call- 
ed me  for  a  purpose.  He  called  me  as  an  individual.  I  was  not 
called  by  the  church,  but  I  was  called  by  Christ  as  an  individual, 
and  if  He  has  seen  fit  to  put  wealth  in  my  hands,  it  is  an  evidence 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


73 


that  He  poured  that  into  my  lap  for  some  purpose.  I  belong  to 
Him.  I  have  been  purchased,  for  I  have  been  saved  by  the  Lord 
Almighty.  As  He  would,  He  has  given  to  me.  I  am  respon- 
sible to  Him.  If  a  man  has  not  begun  early  in  life  to  give  a 
little,  he  will  never  give  much.  I  remember  when  I  had  a  sal- 
ary of  $150,  I  gave  $50  of  that  to  a  poor  young  man,  to  aid  him 
in  studying  for  the  ministry.  (Applause.)  From  that  time,  I 
have  resolved  that  a  certain  percentage  of  all  that  God  gives  me 
should  be  given  to  Him,  and  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  more  I  have 
given,  the  more  I  have  got,  and  I  trust  that  as  long  as  I  live,  I 
shall  feel  a  personal  responsibility  to  my  Saviour,  for  to  Him  I 
belong,  and  to  no  one  else.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Walker,  of  Mass : — If  the  Social  Unions  in  the  United 
States  could  have  accomplished  nothing  more  than  to  bring  us 
together,  so  that  we  might  touch  the  hearts  of  each  other,  as  we 
have  done  to-day,  particularly  that  of  brother  Colgate,  they 
would  have  done  enough  for  a  generation,  but  I  wish  to  say  a 
word  or  two.  Now,  brethren,  we  are  present  to-day  in  the 
interest  of  our  Master.  If  Christ  is  not  here  we  had  better  be 
away.  But  I  know  he  is  here.  When  you  come  to  talk  of  this 
extending  education  to  women,  let  us  look  about  among  our 
acquaintances.  I  say  it  is  rarely,  if  ever  the  case,  that  the  man 
can  lift  the  woman  up.  Have  you  ever  noticed  ill-assorted  mar- 
riages by  a  man  marrying  a  woman  below  him  ?  Did  you  ever 
know  him  to  lift  her  up  ?  Is  he  not  dragged  down  ?  Did  you 
ever  know  an  elevated,  educated,  Christian  woman,  if  that  de- 
mon whiskey  had  not  hold  of  a  man,  who  could  not  lift  him  up  ? 
How  often  have  we  seen  the  smallest  of  men  elevated  by  the 
power  and  influence  of  his  wife.  Do  not  let  us  forget  this  influ- 
ence. I  tell  you  that  the  way  to  reach  the  hearts  of  men,  to  lift 
them  up,  is  through  the  mothers  and  sisters,  the  wives  of  men. 
Let  us  remember  this  thing,  for  it  is  true.  Is  it  not?  Do  not 
let  us  forget  the  family.  That  is  the  first  institution  that  God 
ever  made,  and  the  church  second.  Do  not  let  us  forget  the 
family.  Let  us  endow  our  institutions,  and  provide  means  for 
education,  but  the  family  must  determine  the  boy  or  girl  to  be 
educated,  as  a  rule.  If  the  father  or  mother  have  not  the  desire 
to  send  them,  no  other  agency  has  ever  sent  them.  Is  not  this 
a  fact  ?  It  must  go  in  that  direction.  If  we  can  get  these  insti- 
tutions of  learning,  and  get  them  thoroughly  founded,  and  made 
strong,  both  sexes  to  enjoy  their  advantages  equally,  let  it  be 
done.    God  bless  the  brother  that  has  endowed  them  so  nobly. 


74 


Proceedings  of  Convention . 


But  let  us  not  forget  that  if  these  endowments  can  come  from 
the  mass  of  the  brethren,  if  they  are  educated  up  to  give  their 
share,  there  is  a  power  which  is  a  hundred  fold  stronger  than  if 
it  depended  upon  a  few.  We  will  do  better  if  a  thousand  give 
§10,000  apiece,  than  to  have  any  man  or  two  men  give  a  million. 

Dr.  Robinson,  of  Brown  University  : — I  wish  to  call  atten- 
tion, Mr.  President,  to  a  single  item  of  Dr.  Moss's  address.  I 
refer  to  his  allusion  to  the  education  of  men  for  the  ministry,  and 
the  encouragement  of  men  beforehand,  at  the  outset,  to  pledge 
themselves  to  work  in  the  Christian  ministry.  That  is  a  delicate 
but  very  important  point.  It  concerns  us  deeply.  It  has  affect- 
ed us  disastrously,  in  the  years  past.  It  has  been  my  misfortune, 
it  was  my  duty  to  allude,  at  our  Educational  Convention,  at 
Philadelphia,  to  this  point,  in  language  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
gave  some  grief  to  certain  persons  present.  I  spoke  from  the 
experience  of  more  than  twenty  years.  I  did  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  it  is  perilous  in  the  extreme  to  educate  by  charitable  con- 
tributions, the  large  class  of  men  who  pledge  themselves  from  the 
outset  to  be  Christian  ministers.  Do  we  want  any  man  in  the 
Christian  ministry  who  does  not,  in  his  mature  manhood,  feel 
from  his  soul,  that  he  is  called  to  preach  the  gospel  ?  If  there  is 
any  man  who  does  not  so  feel,  in  God's  name  let  him  quit  the 
Christian  ministry.  There  is  not  a  sect  in  existence  that  is  not 
suffering  from  this.  I  have  heard  it  from  the  Episcopalians. 
Baptists,  Presbyterians,  and  from  all  the  sects,  that  the  ministry 
is  painfully  encumbered  by  men  who  have  nothing  to  do,  appar- 
ently because  they  can  do  nothing,  or  are  wanting  in  the  ear- 
nestness of  conviction.  But  here  is  the  question,  and  we  must 
face  it.  What,  then,  is  to  be  done.  We  must  encourage  men  to 
enter  the  Christian  ministry.  Let  us  everywhere  encourage  men 
to  be  educated.  It  is  the  duty  of  Brother  Colgate,  of  every  man 
here,  of  Brother  Colgate,  and  of  all  these  brethren  here  of  wealth* 
to  have  an  atmosphere  of  education  in  their  families,  to  say  to 
their  children  in  the  talk  at  the  family  board,  in  the  spirit  of 
their  prayers,  from  beginning  to  end,  "  My  sons  are  to  be  edu- 
cated, and  educated  to  the  honor  of  God,  and  to  the  service  of 
Christ."  (Applause.)  We  want  ministers  to  come  up,  as  some 
of  these  brethren  have,  to  give  themselves  to  the  Christian  min- 
istry. Now  it  seems  to  me,  that  we  should  educate  all  our  sons, 
and  God  will  take  care  of  them,  and  will  call  them  to  do  his 
work  in  His  own  way.  We  have  sometimes  forestalled  Him. 
We  have  asked  men  to  decide  before  they  were  competent  to  de- 


Baptist  Social  I  rntons. 


75 


cide.  I  have  seen  it  in  the  theological  seminaries.  I  have  asked 
why  some  men  were  sent  there.  k<  Well,  they  have  studied  sev- 
eral years,  and  it  is  too  late  for  them  to  do  anything  else."  I  am 
engaged  in  this  work.  I  was  once  in  respectable  employment. 
(Laughter.)  But  I  feel  it  my  duty,  at  the  outset  of  the  freshman 
year,  to  speak  of  this.  I  say  leave  this  question  to  be  settled  in 
the  colleges,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  of  trial,  they  will 
soon  settle  it.  That  touches  a  new  question,  and  that  is,  the 
necessity,  in  all  our  colleges,  whatever  may  be  the  tendency  in 
other  directions,  of  earnest,  moral,  religious  instruction,  bearing 
in  mind  that  education  is  a  preparation  of  the  mind  to  do  the 
highest  service  to  God  and  man,  and  then,  if  God  calls  him,  let 
him  be  a  minister. 

Dr.  Fulton,  of  Brooklyn  : — With  regard  to  the  ministers,  I 
have  heard  a  great  many  things  said  to-day  which  have  hurt  my 
heart.  Many  of  us  are  in  the  ministry  and  have  made  sacrifices 
for  it.  One  may  be  better  fitted  for  one  kind  of  work  and 
another  for  another  kind.  Leave  the  rest  to  God.  With  re- 
gard to  this  education  of  women  I  want  to  say  just  a  word.  I 
do  believe  in  just  what  my  brother  said,  that  we  need  educated 
men  and  women.  We  cannot  educate  them  too  much,  we  can- 
not draw  out  the  power  of  women  too  much.  Last  night  the 
gentleman  spoke  of  that  great  organization  which  is  being  led 
by  the  priesthood,  but  which  is  without  a  laity.  I  tell  you  that 
the  priesthood  of  the  Roman  Church  would  never  be  what  it  is 
without  its  laity.  You  will  find  more  men  of  that  church  in  ed- 
itorial chairs  in  New  York,  than  from  any  other  church.  You 
will  find  more  articles  written  by  men  of  that  church  in  our  re- 
views, than  from  any  other  laity  in  the  land.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church  has  a  great  scholarship  and  we  need  not  talk 
against  that  which  leads  the  thought  of  that  church,  as  every 
church  ought  to  lead  theirs.  In  regard  to  the  ministers,  where 
would  Daniel  Webster  have  been  if  it  had  not  been  for  Buck- 
mixster?  Where  would  Choate,  whose  eloquence  rivals  any- 
thing America  ever  heard,  have  been  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
minister  at  whose  feet  he  stood?  I  hope  that  the  laity  will  not 
organize  a  Social  Union,  if  they  are  going  to  talk  down  the 
minister. 

I  hope,  brethren,  that  there  will  be  some  more  thought 
turned  to  the  fitting  of  young  men  for  the  editorial  position, 
There  is  a  high  calling  there  which  we  have  never  thought  much 
about.    We  have  got  work  to  do  in  that  line,  and  I  hope  vou 


7 6  Proceedings  of  Convention. 


gentlemen  will  have  many  of  the  young  men  around  you  educa- 
ted to  fill  these  responsible  positions  which  crowd  upon  us 
every  way.  Let  us  remember  that  we  ought  not  to  ignore  that 
very  great  moral  power,  which  is  within  our  reach,  which  is 
within  the  editorial  rooms  of  the  land.  Let  us  see  that  our 
young  men  are  fitted  for  the  positions  to  which  they  are  called 
by  Providence,  and  then  education  will  make  us  strong  in  the 
future,  as  we  have  been  in  the  past. 

Dr.  Cutting  : — I  should  be  very  unwilling  that  the  state- 
ments which  our  respected  brother  has  just  made,  in  respect  either 
to  the  scholarship  or  the  editorial  positions  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  should  be  made  on  this  floor  without  being 
called  in  question.  (Applause).  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
there  are  distinguished  scholars  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  are  some  scholars  in  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church  whose  scholarship  is  broad,  but  as  to  the 
matter  of  fact  with  regard  to  editorial  positions  of  Catholics  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  with  regard  to  the  authorship  of  the 
articles,  I  have  no  question  but  that  the  statement  is  entirely  a 
mistaken  one.  I  say  this  with  respect,  because  if  there  is  a  man 
on  this  foot-stool  with  whom  I  would  not  like  to  come  in  colli- 
sion, it  is  Brother  Fulton.  I  have  a  profound  impression,  sir, 
that  if  our  educational  institutions  are  to  be  advanced  to  a  meas- 
ure of  strength  which  shall  be  equal  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
present  time,  there  will  be  required  the  co-operation  of  all  our 
laity,  whether  they  can  give  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  by  tens 
of  thousands,  by  thousands,  by  hundreds,  or  by  cents.  We  want 
our  institutions  of  learning  endowed  by  a  constituency  that 
shall  be  as  broad  as  our  people,  because  we  wish  to  make  them 
the  instruments  of  education  for  our  whole  people.  If  I  have 
any  adequate  comprehension  of  what  is  intended  by  the  King- 
dom of  Christ  on  earth,  I  believe  it  to  be,  that  in  its  triumph  the 
human  being  is  to  be  built  up  and  enlarged  to  the  fullest  extent  of 
the  capacity  with  which  God  has  endowed  him,  and  just  as  edu- 
cation is  a  good  thing  for  one  man's  son  and  daughter,  and  for 
another  man's  son  and  daughter,  so  it  is  a  good  thing  for 
every  man's  son  and  daughter,  and  if  the  Baptist  Churches 
are  to  be  strenghtened  in  all  which  is  included  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ,  then  it  seems  to  me  that  evangelization  is  always  to 
blossom  out  in  education.  Now  as  there  may  be  an  inquiry  in 
some  minds  as  to  the  point  about  which  I  am  to  speak,  I  wish 
to  say  that  from  the  materials  that  I  have  been  collecting,  I  am 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


77 


sure  that  in  must  parts  of  the  Northern  States  there  is  a  move- 
ment which  is  carrying  forward  in  an  unprecedented  degree, 
and  strengthening  the  endowments  of  our  institutions  of  learn- 
ing. And  I  think  there  is  a  growing  disposition  to  signalize 
the  period  in  which  we  live  by  making  a  general  movement  in 
that  direction.  What  is  distinctively  called  among  us  the  Cen- 
tennial movement  has  obtained  a  profound  lodgment  in  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  men,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and 
is  already,  notwithstanding  the  panic  and  the  depression  of  com- 
merce and  manufactures,  notwithstanding  the  troubles  in  some 
parts  of  our  country  with  respect  to  the  shortness  of  harvests, 
bringing  into  the  treasuries  of  our  institutions  large  sums  of 
money. 

One  thing  more.  I  feel  very  profoundly  the  obligations  of 
the  Baptist  denomination  to  those  gentlemen  who  have  given 
large  sums  of  money.  We  have  our  proportion  of  men  who  are 
able  to  do  that  kind  of  thing.  I  thank  God  that  he  has  given 
them  the  heart  to  do  that  kind  of  thing.  There  is  wealth  enough 
on  this  floor  at  this  moment,  to  endow  every  college  and  semi- 
nary of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  the  Northern  States.  I 
would  not  have  these  gentlemen  do  it  alone ;  I  would  have  them 
have  the  co-operation  of  all  our  people,  but  I  bless  God  that 
there  are  men  who  are  willing  to  be  the  leaders  of  the  people. 
The  next  point  is  that  I  wish  this  disposition  on  the  part  of 
large-hearted  and  liberal  men  to  give  generously  to  the  en- 
dowment of  institutions  of  learning,  should  be  seconded  on  the 
part  of  our  people  by  a  corresponding  patronage  of  these 
institutions ;  that  our  sons  and  our  daughters  should  crowd  our 
academies,  that  our  sons  and  our  daughters  should  crowd  our 
colleges,  and  that  our  sons,  in  larger  numbers,  should  crowd 
our  theological  seminaries.  Within  the  last  five  years  the  num- 
ber of  men  in  our  theological  seminaries,  pursuing  the  studies 
of  the  most  advance  course  has  increased  more  than  eighty 
per  cent.  (Applause). 

Now  there  is  my  eloquent  brother  yonder  from  whom  I  am 
always  glad  to  hear,  but  whose  sharp  statements  sometimes 
have  a  force  which  perhaps  he  does  not  always  estimate.  The 
general  statement  that  we  must  not  educate  unworthy  persons 
is  a  just  one.  The  general  statement  that  our  churches  should 
be  more  careful  is  a  just  statement,  and  I  entirely  agree  with  the 
gentlemen,  that  the  advancing  towards  a  theological  education 
of  incompetent  men  should  be  stopped  in  the  colleges.    I  say, 


7» 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


trum  my  experience  as  a  teacher,  that  I  have  seen  young  men  sent 
to  the  University,  to  be  educated  for  the  ministry,  whose  dis- 
qualifications disclosed  themselves  in  less  than  a  month.  But 
now  what  we  need  in  this  respect  is  an  increase  of  the  sums 
given  for  beneficiary  education,  corresponding  to  this  great  in- 
crease in  our  young  men  who  are  in  their  studies.  We  want  it  at 
Rochester  and  everywhere.  There  is  a  pressing  necessity  for 
more  money  from  our  churches.  I  hope  that  that  money  will 
be  forth  coming.  I  am  aware  that  I  have  spoken  as  long  as  any 
one  person  should  speak,  and  I  yield  the  floor. 

Mr.  Sage,  of  Rochester  : — The  question  that  will  naturally 
come  up  is:  What  is  the  most  necessary  thing  to  be  done  first? 
Everyone  will  say  that  the  education  of  those  who  are  to  teach 
the  people  was  of  the  primest  importance,  and  the  first  to  com- 
mand the  attention  of  the  denomination.  That  first  demanded 
our  attention,  but  in  the  progress  of  events  we  begin  to  grow 
larger,  and  are  brought  into  a  world  that  has  ideas  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  education  of  other  classes  as  well  as  of  the 
ministry.  Hence  this  is  the  second  step  in  the  progress  of  the 
denomination,  supplementary  to  the  first,  and  hence  should  be 
met  by  men  who  will  meet  it  in  the  fear  of  God.  I  believe  if 
there  has  been  anything  marked  in  the  short  history  of  the  Un- 
iversity of  Rochester,  if  there  has  been  anything  that  started 
that  enterprise,  it  was  the  desire  to  increase  the  facilities  of  ed- 
ucating young  men,  so  that  they  can  have  a  Christian  educa- 
tion, without  special  reference  to  their  being  educated  for  the 
ministry,  although  the  ministry  was  kept  in  view  from  the 
first.  For  that  purpose  there  were  forty  scholarships  endow- 
ed. But  the  number  who  started  there  in  1847,  the  few  men  that 
assembled  together,  were  mostly  for  a  Christian  education  for 
clergy  and  laity  too.  The  first  two  men  who  started  through 
the  State  to  raise  the  money  were  two  laymen.  One  never  had 
a  college  education ;  one  was  65  years  of  age,  and  had  but  one 
month's  schooling.  But  his  heart  was  as  warm  and  full  as  when 
he  was  converted  and  gave  himself  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  The 
first  §87.000  that  was  raised  was  obtained  by  these  men  without 
one  cent  of  cost  to  the  institution.  God  honored  them  and  He  has 
honored  all  our  history.  Last  night  I  heard  our  President,  who 
has  labored  there  so  long,  present  perhaps  a  gloomy  prospect. 
He  saw  the  possible  field  that  is  open  to  us,  and  so  his  heart  is 
yearning  for  it.  Brother  Robinson  and  Brother  Moss  must  have 
all  felt  it.    Brethren,  shall  we  meet  this  crisis?  (Applause). 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


79 


President  Dodge,  of  Hamilton  : — I  have  no  speech  to  make, 
but  only  wish  to  say  a  single  word.  I  have  no  sympathy  with 
ultraism  anywhere.  I  don't  believe  that  hereafter,  when  we 
shall  become  what  God  means  we  shall  become,  in  all  respects, 
that  we  shall  be  ultraists.  I  can  well  be  thoroughly  radical, 
because  I  am  a  Baptist,  but  I  cannot  be  an  ultraist.  Now  what 
is  the  fact  with  regard  to  educational  interests  so  far  as  they  are 
related  to  the  minister?  What  is  the  fact  as  related  to  social  and 
industrial  life?  Is  it  not  an  under-lying  fact  that  a  great  many 
men  who  are  the  heads  of  families  don't  encourage  their  sons  to 
pursue  an  education,  and  still  less  encourage  them  to  enter  the 
Christian  ministry?  Is  it  not  also  a  fact  that  temptations  pur- 
sue young  men  on  all  sides,  to  turn  them  aside  from  the  minis- 
try, to  become  merchants,  lawyers,  doctors,  or  to  become 
secular  teachers,  or  to  attempt  some  other  work  which  is  remote 
from  the  ministry  imits  form, — it  need  never  be  in  its  spirit,  for 
all  work  may  be  religious.  While  these  temptations  are  so 
strong,  so  pressing,  what  is  the  accompanying  result  ?  Poor 
young  men  enter  the  Christian  ministry.  The  men  who  have 
entered  it  and  who  are  entering  it  to-day,  among  the  Presbyter- 
ians and  among  the  Episcopalians,  and  other  denominations, 
are  largely  drawn  from  poor  families,  much  more  largely  than 
twenty  years  ago.  Now,  as  our  social  and  industrial  movement 
goes  on,  they  will  be  sure  to  increase.  The  tendency  is  to  sep- 
arate society  into  classes.  I  am  only  speaking  of  the  movements 
of  class  tendency,  by  forces  which  you  feel  but  cannot  very  well 
control.  And  we  may  rest  assured,  whether  we  think  this  plan  or 
that  plan  is  right,  we  may  rest  assured  of  this  thing  in  the  future, 
that  the  large  portion  of  the  young  men  who  enter  the  ministry 
of  the  Baptist  church,  as  in  the  ministry  of  other  denominations, 
will  be  from  poor  families.  That  is  to  be  the  fact  of  the  future. 
The  cost  of  living  now  is  about  three  times  as  high  as  twenty- 
one  years  ago,  it  was,  when  I  went  to  Hamilton  to  labor  as  a 
teacher.  How  do  you  suppose  poor  young  men  shall  earn  the 
money  to  educate  themselves  without  aid?  It  is  only  a  ques- 
tion of  arithmetic.  What  shall  they  do  ?  Are  they  all  able? 
Here  and  there  a  man  by  useful  relations  or  by  force  of  charac- 
ter and  energy,  might  be  able,  if  he  was  solitary  and  alone  to 
succeed,  but  he  would  be  one  in  twenty-five,  and  the  twenty- 
four  must  be  provided  for.  How  can  they  all  gain  a  livelihood, 
support  themselves  and  study  as  well  ?  A  man  may  force  him- 
self to  be  a  scrub.    He  may  do  drudgery,  and  I  honor  a  man, 


So 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


who,  Lifted  up  by  his  ideal,  borne  aloft  by  his  high  purpose,  I 
honor  him  if  he  indeed  but  gains  his  end  by  being  a  scrub. 
One  thing  is  fixed,  and  remains — a  self-sustaining  and  noble 
Christian  character. 

One  thing  more  I  want  to  say.  I  believe  we  have  sometimes 
failed  in  Hamilton,  but  at  the  same  time,  I  think  I  can  put  my 
hand  on  this  organization,  or  that  organization,  or  the  other  or- 
ganization, and  can  go  forth  and  challenge  these  organizations 
to  show  fewer  failures  than  we  have  made  there.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion of  principle.  It  is  a  question  of  necessity — the  question  of 
wise  means  to  wise  ends.  I  rejoice — I  am  always  glad  when  a 
young  man  is  able,  in  any  way,  to  care  for  himself  without  fall- 
ing back  on  any  educational  society.  I  regard  that  as  a  gain. 
I  put  it  down  to  his  credit.  But  when  the  question  comes  of 
failures,  of  mistakes,  I  can  say  honestly  and  frankly,  as  a  man 
and  a  Christian,  that  I  believd  that  at  Hamilton,  we  have  made 
no  more  mistakes  than  other  kindred  benevolent  Christian 
organizations  have  made.  Let  us  be  alive  to  one  fact  with  re- 
gard to  our  denomination.  We  are  like  the  stars  above  our 
heads,  with  their  thousand  centres.  There  is  no  great  centre 
anywhere,  that  holds  this  denomination  together.  The  Chris- 
tian minister,  if  he  is  a  good  one,  is  a  centre,  wherever  he  is. 
There  are  thousands  of  little  churches,  and  more,  throughout 
the  denomination,  full  of  power,  but  with  no  general  centre. 
Now  don't  let  us  have  any  plan  for  remedying  that  that  is  in- 
consistent with  our  genius.  The  denomination  is  not  at  liberty 
to  take  any  plan  that  it  pleases.  It  is  not  at  liberty  any  more 
than  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  would  be  at  liberty  to 
propose  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  that  would  annihil- 
ate the  republican  government.  Every  plan  or  method  must  be 
in  harmony  with  the  genius  of  the  denomination  to  which  we 
belong,  and  must  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  governing  idea,  the 
regnant  element  of  the  denomination.  I  say  this,  taking  us  as 
we  are.  This  question  of  plans  or  methods  must  finally  be  the 
question  for  our  growth  ;  and  when  we  have  legitimately  out- 
grown some  of  these  plans,  (but  it  must  be  by  growth  ;  it  must 
not  be  by  tearing  and  rending  these  societies  apart  from  our 
light,  but  by  growth),  nobody  will  rejoice  more  than  I,  when 
denominations  will  outgrow  them  and  take  on  something  better. 
But  this  I  will  say.  I  hope  that  time  never  wTill  come,  when  the 
Baptist  ministry  will  be  made  up  either  of  men  from  wealthy 
families,  or  poor  families.    It  is  all  the  better  for  being  made  up 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


81 


of  unlike  units,  just  as  society  must  be  made  up  of  unlike  units. 
I  would  to  God  we  never  could  give  up  that  great  doctrine  of 
individualism  which  I  hold  up,  which  I  love  with  my  whole 
heart  and  mind,  because  it  gives  to  me  individual  freedom.  It 
seems  to  me  I  would  have  to  go  out  of  the  denomination  before 
I  would  go  without  that  freedom,  or  deny  it  to  any  other  man, 
whoever  he  be,  or  wherever  he  may  be. 

Dr.  Robinson,  of  R.  I.  : — I  wish  to  allude  to  some  remarks 
made  by  Dr.  Cutting,  on  the  Centennial  movement.  It  does 
seem  to  me,  that  we  ought  to  give  some  attention  to  the  ques- 
tion of  methods  of  organization,  if  we  are  going  to  accomplish 
the  great  thing  proposed.  It  cannot  be  accomplished  alone  by 
one  organization,  unless  it  takes  possession  of  the  minds  of  all 
of  us,  so  that  we  can  return  from  this  meeting,  and  each  exert 
his  own  influence  for  the  making  of  such  plans  by  the  individual 
churches,  as  will  bring  the  entire  membership  of  our  churches 
under  contribution.  But  it  does  seem  to  me  as  though  some- 
thing which  is  practicable  should  be  done.  I  should  like  to 
hear  from  Dr.  Cutting. 

Dr.  Cutting  : — I  confess  I  have  been  waiting  to  hear  others 
speak  upon  that  subject,  and  it  is  possible  that  others  have  been 
waiting  to  hear  me  speak  on  that  subject,  and  now  there  is  but 
little  time  left.  The  practical  measure  that  seems  to  me  to  be 
possible,  and  that  which  I  was  going  to  propose,  was  that  a 
committee  should  be  appointed  this  evening,  composed  of  gen- 
tlemen who  will  agree  to  sit  for  the  purpose,  after  the  adjourn- 
ment to-morrow,  who  shall  draw  up  an  address  to  the  Baptists 
of  the  country — a  brief  statement,  setting  forth  the  purpose  and 
plans  with  reference  to  the  movement.  If  Dr.  Robinson,  and 
Dr.  Dodge,  and  Mr.  Sage — for  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  Dr.  An- 
derson has  been  under  the  necessity  of  going  home — and  some 
other  gentlemen  connected  with  Boards  of  Trust  of  our  institu- 
tions of  learning ;  if  a  committee  of  a  dozen  such  men  will  sit 
to-morrow,  and  make  that  the  subject  of  their  deliberations  ;  if 
this  Convention  has  such  confidence  in  them  that  it  will  select  a 
wise  and  competent  committee  to  sit  upon  that  question,  and 
prepare  an  address  to  the  Baptists  of  the  country  upon  it,  it 
seems  to  me  that  that  will  be  the  wisest  and  best  thing  that 
can  be  done  by  this  meeting.  I  think  there  can  be  selected 
such  laymen  and  officers  of  instruction,  who  can  be  entrusted 
to  do  that  thoroughly,  wisely,  and  successfully.    We  believe  the 


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Proceedings  of  Convention 


Baptist  denomination  is  waiting  to  see  it  done — something  of 
that  sort. 

Dr.  Samson,  of  New  York : — We  have  got  to  organize  a 
spirit  like  that  which  built  up  the  University  of  Virginia.  I 
think  it  may  be  done.  Brother  Sage  brought  out  the  point  that 
it  is  secular  education  that  is  now  demanded  of  our  colleges; 
that  we  must  keep  that  in  mind  if  we  are  going  to  cope  with 
other  colleges.  I  think  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Cutting  is  a  wise 
one.    This  has  been  in  my  mind  all  the  time  to-day. 

Dr.  Fish,  of  N.  J. : — I  move  that  the  committee  be  appointed 
at  this  time,  and  suggest  that  it  be  composed  of  such  gentlemen 
as  will  be  able  to  give  attention  to  it.  There  is  a  want  felt  for 
this  outlying,  missionizing  work.  Hearts  are  aching  to  get  at 
the  work,  and  heads  are  asking  how.  I  think  if  this  meeting 
should  leave  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Cutting,  he  could 
submit  a  condensed  outline  ol  the  method,  and  let  it  be  pub- 
lished by  means  of,  and  with  the  sanction  of  perhaps  the  Educa- 
tional Commission.  But  I  think  the  better  plan  would  be,  if 
men  can  be  found,  to  get  some  gentlemen  who  will  spend  half 
a  day  here  to-morrow  ;  such  gentlemen  as  can  be  selected  for 
that  purpose,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  so  that  the  result 
will  be  reached  by  the  united  wisdom  of  these  gentlemen.  Let 
whatever  they  shall  prepare  be  circulated  or  available  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  so  that  to  any  inquiries  which  may  be  made, 
such  as  may  spring  up  in  our  minds,  it  will  be  an  answer.  I 
move  that  such  a  committee  be  appointed. 

Dr.  Cutting  : — I  was  going  to  suggest  that  as  that  commit- 
tee needs  to  be  composed  of  gentlemen  who  will  agree  to  sit  for 
the  purpose  to-morrow,  a  committee  be  now  appointed  to  select 
a  committee  of  eleven,  and  report  that  committee  during  this 
evening.  I  would  be  delighted  to  make  that  duty  over  to  the 
chairman,  but  it  is  impossible  that  he  can  consult  those  individ- 
uals, to  see  if  they  can  serve.  Therefore,  I  propose  that  simply 
a  committee  of  three,  for  such  a  purpose,  be  now  appointed. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  Dr.  Cutting,  Dr.  Fish, 
and  Mr.  W.  N.  Sage,  was  appointed  for  this  purpose. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned. 


Baptist  Social  I  rnion$.  83 


EVENING  SESSION. 


The  Convention  was  called  to  order  by  President 
Wayland,  at  7.30,  P.  M. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Turn  bull,  of 
Hartford,  Conn. 

The  minutes  of  the  Afternoon  Session  were  read  by 
the  Secretary  pro  tern. 

Dr.  Cutting,  Chairman,  reported  a  Committee  on 
the  Centennial  Commemoration  as  follows  : — 

John  B.  Trevor,  Samuel  Colgate, 

Nathan  Bishop,  William  Bushnell, 

Gardner  Colby,  James  P.  Boyce, 

James  L.  Howard,  Andrew  F.  Hastings, 

Joseph  H.  Walker,  George  H.  Andrews, 

James  B.  Colgate,  S.  S.  Constant, 
Samuel  S.  Greene. 

The  following  resolutions  were  likewise  reported  and 
passed  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Committee  is  requested  to  meet  to-mor- 
row, at  10,  A.  M.,  at  the  Home  Mission  Rooms,  150  Nassau 
street,  New  York,  the  members  meeting  to  constitute  a  quorum, 
and  to  take  measures  to  address  the  Baptists  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  purposes  and  methods  of  a  Centennial  contribu- 
tion in  behalf  of  our  institutions  of  learning.8 

Resolved,  That  they  be  requested  to  appoint  a  sub-commit- 
tee, wTho  can  meet  without  inconYenience,  that  this  sub-commit- 
tee be  authorized  to  fill  Yacancies  in  the  committee,  and  to  en- 
large it,  and  also  to  co-operate  with  the  ExecutiYe  Committee  of 
the  Educational  Commission,  and  with  local  committees  of  the 
several  states  and  sections  laboring  to  the  common  end. 


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Proceedings  of  Convention 


[Mr.  Constant  having  expressed  his  inability  to 
perform  the  duties  required,  Mr.  A.  B.  Capwell  was 
subsequently  appointed  in  his  stead.J 

Dr.  Fish  : — It  is  only  fair  for  me  to  say,  that  the  Committee 
disagreed  upon  one  item  of  that  report,  and  it  was  only  owing 
to  the  modesty  of  one  of  its  members  that  it  was  adopted.  I 
move  that  Brother  Cutting  be  added  to  this  list.  I  move,  also, 
that  Dr.  Cutting  be  chairman  of  that  Committee. 

Dr.  Cutting  : — I  hold  as  many  offices  now  as  I  am  well 
able  to  carry.  I  will  not  shrink  from  any  work  that  I  am  able 
to  perform,  but  I  would  most  respectfully  suggest  that  my  name 
be  left  off. 

Dr.  Fish  : — I  do  insist  upon  my  motion. 

The  President  : — If  I  had  supposed  that  Dr.  Cutting  rose 
for  the  purpose  of  refusing,  I  would  have  ruled  him  out  of  order. 

The  motion  was  put  and  adopted. 

The  President  : — Is  there  any  other  business? 

Dr.  Cutting  : — I  have  received  a  letter,  which,  with  your 
leave,  I  will  read.  The  letter  is  from  the  Hon.  Columbus  De- 
lano, Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Washington. 

Washington,  D.  C,  December  7th,  1874. 
My  Dear  Sir  : — I  desire  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  an 
invitation,  through  your  kindness,  to  the  Convention  of  the  Bap- 
tist Social  Unions,  in  Brooklyn,  on  the  evenings  of  December 
9th  and  10th,  and  on  the  intervening  day,  and  to  express  my 
earnest  sympathy  with  such  meetings,  as  tending  to  promote 
harmony  and  good  feeling  among  those  interested  in  the 
advancement  of  the  great  interests  of  Christianity  and  Christian 
progress,  and  thus  proving  efficient  means  of  promoting  these 
great  interests. 

I  sincerely  regret,  that  engagements,  on  both  of  the  even- 
ings named,  will  prevent  me  from  being  present  at  the  Conven- 
tion, but  bespeak  for  you  and  your  associates,  that  success  and 
enjoyment  which  are  merited  by  the  important  interests  involved. 
With  the  highest  regard  and  esteem,  I  remain 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
Rev.  Dr.  S.  S.  Cutting,  C.  Delano 

247  President  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


85 


The  President  : — The  Convention  will  now  give 
its  attention  to  the  address  of  Dr.  Robinson. 

President  E.  G.  Robinson,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity : — Mr.  President,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  theme 
assigned  me  is, 

"The  Conditions  of  the  Power  and  Progress  of  a  Chris- 
tian Denomination." 

By  a  Christian  Denomination,  I  understand  to  be  meant,  a 
body  of  Christians,  distinguishable  from  other  bodies  by  pecu- 
liarities of  belief  and  practice.  These  peculiarities. may  be  pre- 
eminently doctrinal,  or  pre-eminently  ritual,  or  pre-eminently 
ecclesiastical.  There  are  existing  denominations  whose  marked 
distinction  is  one  or  the  other  of  these  peculiarities.  A  Chris- 
tian denomination  organizes  itself  around  a  belief  in  some  dis- 
tinctive tenet  or  tenets,  which  it  supposes  other  denominations 
to  have  unwarrantably  overlooked.  But  its  tenets  are  inciden- 
tal to  the  main  ends  of  the  Gospel.  And  if  what  is  thus  inciden- 
tal is  made  the  chief  end  of  denominational  existence,  the  de- 
nomination swerves  from  its  due  allegiance  to  the  Author  of  the 
Gospel,  and  fails  of  its  legitimate  function.  If  the  maintenance 
of  its  peculiarities  becomes  the  sole  end  of  its  existence,  it  be- 
comes perverse  in  purpose,  and  may  become  un-Christian  in 
spirit.  I  understand  the  theme  assigned  me,  therefore,  to  be  equiv- 
alent to  the  question,  "  What  are  the  conditions  of  the  power 
and  progress  of  Christianity,  as  embodied  in  a  Christian  denom- 
ination or  sect  ?" 

A  denomination  or  sect  has  a  right  to  exist  as  such,  only 
just  so  far  as  it  aims  to  diffuse  a  genuine  Christianity.  I  will 
consent  to  be  a  member  of  a  Christian  denomination  only  just  so 
long  as  I  believe  that  denomination  to  be  intent  upon  the  great 
work  of  evangelization,  and  not  on  the  mere  perpetuation  of  its 
peculiarities.  (Applause.)  These  peculiarities  are,  and  should 
always  be  made  subordinate  to  the  Christianization  of  mankind- 
In  becoming  a  Christian,  a  man  recognizes  Christ  as  his  master 
the  laws  of  Christ  as  his  rules  of  action;  and  the  interpretation 
of  the  rules,  by  his  sect,  he  should  always  hold  in  subordination 
to  his  convictions  of  what  is  due  to  Christ. 

What,  then,  are  the  Conditions  of  the  Power  and  Progress 
of  Christianity  on  this  earth  ? 

First  of  all,  is  thorough  conviction — a  deep-seated,  all-per- 
vading, all-conquering  belief  in  the  truth  of  what  is  professed. 


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To  be  a  Christian  is  to  believe  in  the  supreme  authority  of  God, 
in  the  right  of  Jesus  Christ  to  control  thought,  purpose,  and 
life,  as  well  as  property.  In  becoming  a  Christian,  therefore, 
a  man  lays  all  upon  the  altar  of  Jesus  Christ.  Anything  short  of 
that  is  just  so  far  short  of  becoming  a  Christian,  and  that  man 
alone  is  thoroughly  Christian,  whose  whole  nature  is  thoroughly 
pervaded  with  the  Christian  spirit,  and  whose  whole  character 
is  the  product  of  an  all-conquering  conviction  of  the  truth  of 
the  religion  he  professes.  Corresponding  to  this  is  the  convic- 
tion of  the  truth  of,  and  the  divine  warrant  for,  the  peculiarities 
of  the  sect  to  which  one  belongs.  And  the  sect  will  be  prosper- 
ous, the  denomination  will  be  vigorous,  energetic  and  successful, 
in  proportion  to  the  thoroughness  of  its  conviction  of  a  divine 
authority  for  what  it  maintains. 

Now,  much  has  been  written,  and  more  has  been  spoken 
about  an  earnest  ministry.  But  no  one  is  thoroughly  in  earnest 
who  purposes  to  be  so.  Real  earnestness  is  always  spontaneous 
and  unconscious.  That  man  is  effective  who  is  so  thoroughly  pos- 
sessed by  what  he  believes,  that  every  fibre  of  his  being  is  con- 
trolled by  it.  That  alone  is  earnest  which  wells  from  the  depths 
of  one's  inner  being.  There  is  no  earnestness  in  mere  noise  and 
physical  excitement.  There  is  no  earnestness  in  mere  declam- 
ation. There  is  no  earnestness  in  mere  rhetoric.  All  these  are 
made.  True  earnestness,  on  the  contrary,  comes  unbidden,  from 
within — is  mindful  only  of  the  thoughts  and  convictions  that 
beget  it.  The  earnest  man  is  borne  away  and  out  of  himself  by 
the  purposes  that  possess  him.  He  is,  in  a  sense,  beside  him. 
self — in  a  kind  of  ecstasy — standing,  as  the  word  ecstasy  etymo- 
logically  signifies,  outside  of  himself.  Into  the  current  of  his 
convictions  are  swept  all  the  minor  aims  of  his  life.  Against  the 
contagion  of  his  emotions  no  one  is  secure. 

Christianity  has  been  successful  in  the  world  just  in  propor- 
tion to  the  thoroughness  and  strength  of  conviction  on  the  part 
of  those  who  have  received  it.  And  by  conviction,  I  do  not 
mean  a  mere  assent  of  the  understanding  to  the  truth  of  the 
scripture  records,  or  to  a  series  of  doctrinal  propositions,  but 
that  consent  of  the  heart  to  all  Christian  truth — that  genuine 
faith,  which  constitutes  what  we  call  salvation.  No  man  ever 
believed  in  that  which  he  did  not  like.  You  believe  in  that 
bosom  companion  of  yours  because  you  love  her,  and  you  love 
because  you  believe  in  her.  Just  so  is  it  in  Christianity.  The 
faith  that  saves  its  possessor,  and  at  the  same  time  makes  him  a 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


»7 


power  among  mankind,  is  a  faith  that  moves  his  whole  nature, 
taking  possession  of  his  thoughts,  his  aspirations,  his  acquis- 
itions, his  property,  and  directing  the  whole  current  of  his 
being.  Where  such  faith  exists,  Christianity  is  a  power,  and 
a  Christian  denomination  animated  by  such  a  faith,  will  be  both 
powerful  and  progressive. 

Thus  what  is  essential  to  the  power  and  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity among  men,  is  also  essential  to  the  power  and  progress 
of  a  Christian  denomination.  It  must  have  a  deep-seated  con- 
viction of  the  divine  authority  of  its  distinctive  peculiarities  of 
belief  and  practice.  There  are,  indeed,  plenty  of  people  in  every 
denomination,  who  are  merely  its  passive  adherents.  Of  this 
kind  of  adherents,  Baptists  have  their  full  share.  Doubtless, 
there  are  those  among  us  whose  inaction  and  indifference  are 
the  natural  product  of  doubts  as  to  the  need  or  even  desirableness 
of  the  perpetuation  of  our  denominational  existence.  It  is  pos- 
sible, and  may  be  entirely  consistent  with  honesty,  for  one,  after 
a  full  survey  of  the  distinctive  peculiarities  of  his  sect,  to  aban- 
don it.  But  it  is  equally  possible,  and  may  be  equally  consis- 
tent for  one,  after  a  like  survey  of  the  peculiarities  of  his  sect, 
to  reach  the  conclusion  that  he  can  belong  to  no  other.  After 
more  than  thirty  years  of  careful  study,  of  somewhat  diligent 
investigation,  and  of  varied  experience,  I  can  be  no  other  than 
a  Baptist,  so  help  me  God.  (Applause.)  And  so  believing,  I 
dare  not,  at  the  peril  of  my  own  peace,  connect  myself  with  any 
other  sect,  or,  in  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  avow  my 
acceptance  of  the  tenets  of  any  other.  Let  us  be  fully  persuaded 
in  our  own  minds,  for  without  depth  and  strength  of  conviction, 
we  shall  be  of  but  very  little  service,  either  in  the  common  cause 
of  Christianity,  or  in  the  special  work  to  which,  as  a  Christian 
denomination,  we  are  called. 

And  let  us  not  forget  that  the  fathers  of  the  denomination 
to  which  we  belong,  were  pre-eminently  earnest  men,  because 
they  were  men  of  deep  and  settled  convictions.  They  came  out 
of  great  tribulations.  They  adopted  their  views  only  after  fiery 
trials.  It  cost  something  once  to  be  a  Baptist,  just  as  it  costs 
something  now  for  a  man  to  be  true  to  his  convictions. 

But  mere  earnestness,  mere  strength  of  conviction,  may  not 
always  be  accompanied  with  enlightenment.  There  has  always 
been  danger  of  adopting  a  creed  with  great  earnestness,  but 
without  enlightenment,  of  supporting  it  with  great  zeal,  but 
without  knowledge  or  discretion.    There  is  such  a  thing  as  big- 


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otry.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  superstition.  There  is  the  mad 
ness  upon  one's  altars — the  fanaticism  which  blights  whatever 
it  touches.  These  all  and  always  are  curses  to  their  victims, 
and  the  only  cure  for  them  is  enlightenment.  There  may  be 
great  power  for  a  time  ;  power  for  good,  it  may  be,  as  well  as 
evil,  in  a  merely  fanatical  belief.  But  our  theme  is,  the  conditions 
of  the  power  and  progress  of  a  Christian  denomination.  The  theme 
is  equivalent  to  an  inquiry  for  the  requisite  to  the  progressive  pow- 
er, or  the  powerful  progress  of  a  denomination .  The  questh  m  is — 
What  will  make  this  power  of  a  denomination  permanent,  and 
progressively  effective?  Manifestly,  if  the  power  of  a  Christian 
sect  is  to  be  continuous  ;  if  it  is  to  be  self-preservative  and  pro- 
gressive ;  if  it  is  to  lift  up  a  people  to  an  ever-ascending  plane, 
and  carry  them  steadily  onward  in  their  career,  it  must  be  a 
powTer  that  emanates  from  disciplined  and  cultivated  minds. 
The  sect  that  is  to  prosper,  must  be  disciplined  in  intellect  and 
girded  with  knowledge,  as  well  as  quickened  by  faith.  In  a 
single  word,  it  must  be  educated. 

We  mention  as  a  second  condition  of  power  and  progress, 
the  mental  discipline  and  learning  which  education  brings  with  it. 
We  may  say  what  we  will  of  the  power  of  mere  faith  and  piety  in 
every  age,  but  cultivated  intellect  has  always  had  an  advantage 
over  uncultivated.  Disciplined  mind  asks  no  favors  in  the  defense 
of  its  positions,  and  it  has  always  been  found  that  cultivated  minds 
attract  cultivated  minds,  and,  in  the  end,  sway  and  lead  the  un- 
cultivated. In  all  communities,  civilization  and  religion  alike 
receive  their  shaping  and  type  from  the  cultivated.  All  great 
movements  are  carried  forward  eventually  by  educated  men. 
There  may  be  sudden  ebullitions  and  initial  movements  of 
highest  significance,  which  have  their  origin  with  the  ignorant 
and  unlearned,  but  the  organizing  powers,  whether  in  politics, 
religion  or  science  ;  the  organizing  powrers,  that  give  them  form 
and  controlling  energy,  are  always  the  cultivated  minds  that  are 
attracted  to  them.  These  always  command  attention,  and 
always  give  final  direction  to  what  is  progressive  and  perma- 
nent. The  newspaper  that  you  and  I  wish  to  read  is  the  one 
which  contains  the  latest  and  most  authentic  news,  and  gives 
the  best  digested  and  most  enlightened  articles.  Men  take  a 
newspaper  regardless  of  the  doctrinal  or  religious  belief  of  the 
editor.  They  do  not  care  to  stop  and  ask  whether  his  tone  be 
devout,  or  may  not  be  even  impious.  It  has  been  said  that  men 
will  have  the  latest  and  most  authentic  news  if  they  go  to  the 


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89 


mouth  of  hell  for  it.  If  you  have  an  enlightened  and  vigorous 
newspaper,  edited  by  an  educated  demon,  and  issued  out  of  the 
gate  of  perdition,  and  an  unenlightened  and  weakly  one  edited 
by  an  ignorant  saint,  and  issued  out  of  the  gate  of  heaven, 
men  will  take  the  enlightened  and  vigorous.  So  it  is  with  re- 
ligion. Men  will  insist  upon  being  informed  and  instructed 
by  the  teachers  of  religion.  Any  one  who,  until  quite  recently, 
had  gone  to  hear  Mr.  Martineau  preach,  in  London,  would  have 
seen  an  assemblage  of  men  of  cultivated  minds,  an  audience  not 
large,  but  packed  with  intellect ;  intellect  enough  to  have  made 
many  an  ordinary  congregation  consisting  of  thousands.  His 
Holiness,  the  Pope,  was  right  in  judgment,  when  he  sent  to  Eng- 
land for  Manning,  the  present  archbishop,  and  putting  him  just 
within  the  Gate  del  Popolo,  said  "  preach  there  every  Sunday,  at 
twelve  o'clock  :"  and  Manning  gathered  in  the  Anglicans  as  they 
came  from  their  service  without  the  gate,  and  made  them 
Papists,  not  so  much  because  they  sympathised  with  him,  as  be- 
cause they  were  drawn  and  won  by  his  intellect  and  culture. 
It  has  been  so  always.  As  in  London  and  Rome,  so  in  New 
York.  Why  did  not  the  Dutch  Church  retain  its  religious 
ascendancy  in  that  city?  Why  did  not  the  Episcopalians,  who 
supplanted  the  Dutch,  retain  the  ruling  religious  power,  when 
they  had  acquired 'it — the  Episcopalians,  with  wealth  and  with 
social  appliances  to  help  them  ?  Look  at  the  audiences  gath- 
ered by  the  disciplined  and  cultured  ministers  that  Presbyte- 
rianism  has  given  to  New  York,  men  whose  culture  and  learn- 
ing have  drawn  around  them,  and  into  sympathy,  hearers  and 
churches  of  culture  and  power.  Every  man  who  knows  New 
York,  knows  that  the  disciplined  clergy  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  have  gathered  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ  more  cultivated 
and  sanctified  intellect,  and  more  consecrated  wealth,  than  any 
other  sect,  because  they  were  educated  men,  and  because,  for 
generations,  that  church  has  insisted  upon  having  a  thoroughly 
educated  ministry.  And  so  is  it  among  all  the  denominations 
That  one  succeeds  best,  and  that  one  advances  most  rapidly  and 
safely,  which  has  the  largest  amount  of  disciplined  intellect,  and 
consecrated  knowledge.  It  was  in  view  of  this,  that  for  twenty 
years,  it  was  my  duty,  if  not  privilege,  to  go  to  and  fro,  in  this 
state,  advocating  ministerial  education.  Into  some  of  your  faces 
have  I  looked  anxiously  and  said,  "  we  must  have  money,"  and 
told  you  why  ?  It  was  to  provide  ourselves  with  educated  min- 
isters. I  believed  in  the  thorough  education  of  our  ministers, 
then,  I  believe  in  it  now. 


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Proceedings  of  Convention. 


The  educational  history  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  is  one 
of  many  curious  and  instructive  facts.  Harvard  University  was 
more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter  old;  Yale  College  had  been 
sixty-five  years  in  existence;  and  Princeton  and  Columbia  Col- 
leges were  already  founded  and  flourishing  before  the  Baptists  had 
a  single  institution  of  learning  in  these  United  States.  A  few 
Baptists,  traveling  to  and  fro  through  the  Southern  and  Middle, 
as  well  as  Northern  States,  conferred  with  other  Baptists  about 
the  desirableness  of  founding  an  institution  of  learning.  They 
gathered  largely  of  sympathy,  if  not  of  pecuniary  means  In 
1765,  they  founded  Brown  University,  in  Rhode  Island,  the  Col- 
ony whose  charter  and  people  seemed  most  favorable  to  the  enter- 
prise. That  was  the  beginning  of  educational  institutions  and 
of  education  among  the  Baptists  in  America.  For  a  century  or 
more,  they  had  struggled  on  with  such  men  of  native  intellect 
as  the  denomination  afforded,  and  as  the  Providence  of  God 
raised  up  for  it ;  and  the  denomination  grew.  With  its  growth 
there  grew  up,  also,  a  prejudice  in  favor  of  a  continuance  of 
things  as  they  were.  The  conviction  became  established,  that  if 
the  denomination  was  to  succeed,  it  must  succeed  only  by  look- 
ing to  God,  and  that  God  would  call  educated  men  to  its  ranks  if 
it  needed  them. 

Brown  University  had  been  in  existence  for  a  half  century 
or  more,  when,  in  1820,  if  I  recollect  rightly,  the  Hamilton  Liter- 
ary and  Theological  Institution,  in  New  York,  and  in  1822,  the 
Columbian  College,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  were  organized. 
It  was  not  until  1826,  more  than  sixty  years  after  the  founding 
of  Brown  University,  that  our  first  distinctively  Theological 
Institution  was  established  at  Newton,  Mass.,  and  it  was  against 
many  prejudices  that  a  few  young  men  were  induced  to  resort 
to  it.  Theological  education,  from  the  middle  of  the  first  quar- 
ter of  this  century,  had  been  diligently  cultivated  by  other 
denominations,  and  when  the  products  of  theologiral  culture 
began  to  show  themselves,  the  Baptists  came  into  denomina- 
tional competition  at  a  great  disadvantage,  and  with  the  most 
marked  results.  It  had  not  the  men  to  "  tarry  by  the  stuff,"  to 
use  the  material  that  had  been  collected,  to  hold  together  and 
build  up  the  churches  that  had  been  formed. 

I  stood  yesterday  by  the  bier  of  a  man  who  had  lived  nine- 
ty-five and  a  half  years, — you  all  knew  him,  either  personally 
or  by  reputation — the  Rev.  Dr.  Benedict,  "Elder  Benedict,"  as 
he  used  to  be  called.     Yesterday  we  laid  him  in  his  grave. 


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91 


Fifty  years  ago,  he  was  the  pastor  of  a  congregation  tnat  for 
numbers,  for  solidity  of  character  and  wealth,  and  for  local  in- 
fluence, was,  in  the  denomination  to  which  it  belonged,  the 
second  in  Rhode  Island.  It  was  a  large  congregation  filling  a 
house  of  worship  that  had  been  twice  or  thrice  enlarged.  I  re- 
member it  well  in  the  early  days  of  my  boyhood.  From  it  went 
forth  men  that  to-day  are  found  in  all  the  varied  walks  of  life. 

Dr.  Benedict  was  neither  a  great  preacher,  nor  a  great  man, 
but  he  was  a  well  educated  man  for  his  time.  When  that  simoon 
of  Anti-Masonry  swept  over  the  land — God  grant  it  may  never 
come  again — leaving  desolation  in  its  track,  he  was  swept  from 
his  pulpit,  and  from  that  day,  there  began  in  his  pulpit  a  succes- 
sion of  ministrations  that  finally  succeeded  in  dispersing  the 
best  minds  of  the  congregation,  and  almost  fatally  marring  the 
product  of  twenty  years  of  incessant  labor,  simply  because  in 
the  then  existing  dearth  of  educated  ministers  among  us,  fanati- 
cism and  bigotry,  prejudice  and  ignorance  got  into  a  pulpit 
where  only  well-trained  intellect  should  have  stood,  and  where 
standing,  after  twelve  years  of  mischief  had  been  wrought,  it  be- 
gan the  desperate  work  of  restoring  the  ruins.  When  that  pul- 
pit was  vacated  by  "  Elder  Benedict,"  Newton  Theological  In- 
titution  had  been  in  existence  but  a  year  or  two,  and  even  toler- 
ably well  educated  men  were  scarce  among  us.  But  other 
ministers  more  cultivated  than  our  own,  and  representing  other 
sects,  were  established  in  the  town,  and  gathered  congregations 
and  churches  out  of  the  Baptist ;  and  all  this,  simply  because 
men  will  go  where  they  can  be  most  stimulated  intellectually, 
and  where  they  can  be  most  enlightened  and  edified  religiously. 
That  is  the  rule  and  that  is  the  order  in  this  world. 

We  are,  it  has  been  said,  in  great  danger  of  over-estimating 
the  value  of  merely  ministerial  education.  It  is  a  higher  educa- 
tion for  our  laity,  it  is  claimed,  which  we  now  specially  need  :  and 
the  need  is  certainly  urgent.  I  have  not  lessened  my  estimate  of 
the  value  of  ministerial  education  because  I  chance  now  to  be  in  a 
College  rather  than  in  a  Theological  Seminary.  I  do  not  retract 
a  word  of  what  I  have  said  in  the  past,  in  behalf  of  a  well-trained 
and  a  most  carefully  educated  ministry.  Retrogression  will  be  our 
inevitable  fate  without  it.  But  it  is  our  duty  to  educate  all  our 
sons,  to  give  them  the  most  advantageous  education  we  can,  no 
matter  what  is  to  be  their  calling.  You  owe  it  to  your  son  both 
as  a  father  and  as  a  citizen  to  educate  him.  You  owe  it  by  all 
that  is  sacred  on  earth,  religious  and  political,  to  give  him  the 


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highest,  the  best  education  you  can,  and  of  which  he  is  capable. 
He  will  be  all  the  better  for  it,  both  as  a  son  and  a  citizen,  what- 
ever his  occupation  may  be, — a  better  tradesman,  a  better  me- 
chanic, a  better  legislator,  and  certainly,  a  better  clergyman  or 
lawyer.  Let  him  have  the  best  education  he  is  capable  of  and 
that  the  land  affords.  (Applause). 

It  has  been  said,  that  it  will  be  ruinous  to  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination to  educate  its  laity.  It  has  been  said,  that  the  edu- 
cated sons  of  Baptists  leave  the  denomination  so  soon  as  they  are 
educated.  I  am  looking  into  the  faces  of  some  here  who  have 
educated  their  sons,  who  pre  now  in  other  sects.  We  must  look 
at  the  facts  as  they  are.  I  must  admit  that  after  an  acquaintance 
and  observation  somewhat  extended,  I  have  reached  the  conclu- 
sion that  we  as  a  denomination,  have  furnished  more  sons  and 
daughters  for  other  sects,  than  any  other  denomination  in  this 
land.  We  have  furnished  fewer  clergymen  for  other  churches, 
than  any  other  sect.  And  not  all  of  even  these  few  were  edu- 
cated men.  But  to  educate  a  Baptist  layman  it  has  been  said,  is 
to  educate  him  out  of  his  sect.  Now  is  this  true?  And  if  true, 
why  is  it  so  ?  Is  it  because  our  foundation  is  sand,  because  we 
are  built  upon  error?  If  we  are  building  upon  error,  God 
grant  that  our  days  as  a  denomination  may  be  speedily  ended  ! 
(Applause).  Truth  is  more  than  sect.  It  is  the  truth  only  that 
you  and  I  are  professedly  seeking.  "  Where  truth  is,  thither," 
says  every  honest  mind,  "  let  me  go."  If  to  educate  my  son  will 
fit  him  to  be  a  member  of  some  other  denomination  than  my 
own,  because  with  it  lies  the  truth  rather  than  with  my  own,  so 
be  it. 

But  is  it  mere  education  that  causes  our  losses?  Is  it  not 
rather  because  we  have  educated  so  few  of  our  sons  that  there 
have  not  been  enough  of  them  to  keep  each  other  company? 
Some  of  you  may  doubt  this.  It  may  be  affirmed  that  our  lack 
of  social  culture  and  of  the  refinements  found  in  some  of  the 
other  sects,  will  explain  our  defections;  and  it  maybe  said — 
and  with  truth  perhaps,  that  the  loss  of  persons  susceptible  to 
inducements  so  selfish,  is  no  loss  at  all.  But  the  social  force  is 
not  the  only  one  now  working  adversely  among  us.  What  the 
influences  and  modes  of  thought  now  resisting  our  progress  may 
be,  it  would  be  aside  from  our  present  purpose  to  discuss.  The 
only  point  here  before  us  is,  whether  we  are  so  building  our 
foundations  of  truth  that  we  can  safely  let  in  upon  them  the  light 
of  the  highest  learning.    For  one,  I  believe  that  we  are,  and  I 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


93 


want  the  light  to  be  let  in,  and  our  laymen  so  educated  as  to  be 
made  to  see  that  our  foundations  are  secure;  and  so,  aoiding  in 
the  truth,  they  irmy  multiply  in  numbers,  and  may  keep  each 
other  company  and  in  courage. 

I  suppose  it  to  be  admitted,  Mr.  President,  by  all  real  schol- 
ars, that  Biblical  learning,  and  the  higher  Biblical  criticism  is 
altogether  on  our  side.  It  is  perhaps  needless  in  this  presence 
to  say  that  the  two,  if  not  the  three,  foremost  Biblical  scholars 
in  this  country  are  Baptists.  I  suppose  it  to  be  admitted  by  all 
real  Biblical  scholars  of  both  Europe  and  America,  that  our 
mode  of  Baptism  was  the  primitive  one.  I  suppose  it  to  be  ad- 
mitted by  all  competent  and  candid  scholars,  European  and 
American,  that  there  was  no  infant  Baptism  in  the  primitive 
church;  that  the  first  Christians  received  Baptism  only  on  pro- 
fession of  personal  faith  in  Christ  ;  that  there  are  no  traces  of 
either  Episcopacy  or  Papacy  in  the  New  Testament.  These  I 
take  to  be  the  facts  of  the  case.  They  are  not  disputed  by  im- 
partial scholars.  We  can  summon  for  our  support  therefore 
the  Biblical  learning  of  the  world. 

But  we  do  not  forget  that  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament 
time  and  the  Church  of  to-day,  are  said  to  be,  naturally  and 
necessarily,  very  different  institutions.  Such  is  the  ground  now 
assumed  by  many  who  call  themselves  the  disciples  of  Christ. 
The  principle  they  adopt  is  that  Christianity  is  a  development 
and  therefore  has  passed  away  from  much  that  was  characteris- 
tic of  it  in  the  beginning.  But  as  Baptists  we  hold  that  the 
institutions  of  Christ  were  for  all  time.  And  will  it  necessarily 
follow  that  I  am  a  bigot,  or  a  blind  zealot  hampered  by  ignor- 
ance and  prejudice,  because  I  can  find  no  warrant  for  a  depart- 
ure from  the  primitive  appointments  of  our  religion.  I  have 
said  that  for  myself  I  can  be  nothing  else  than  I  am — a  Baptist. 
This,  I  take  it,  is  your  position.  We  stand  by  the  type  and 
model  of  the  primitive  churches,  because  fidelity  to  truth  admits 
of  our  standing  nowhere  else.  Our  one  great  want  now  is, 
such  an  education  of  our  youth  of  all  classes  and  conditions  as 
shail  enable  them  to  distinguish  between  truth  and  error,  as 
shall  enable  them  to  be  so  grounded  in  the  truth  wherever  it  is 
to  be  found,  as  shall  make  them  not  only  indifferent  to  mere 
selfish  and  social  considerations,  but  shall  make  them  account  it 
an  honor  to  bear  anything  and  everything  that  may  be  requisite 
in  an  unflinching  testimony  to  truth  and  in  their  loyalty  to 
Christ,  and  to  conscience.  Let  us  then  give  the  best  possible 
education  to  our  sons  and  daughters  in  every  walk  of  life. 


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Permit  me  just  here  to  say  a  single  word  in  behalf  of  our 
proposed  celebration  of  the  National  Centennial.  It  does  seem 
to  me  that  we  are  now  called  upon  to  engage  in  one  of  the  no- 
blest undertakings  that  could  be  proposed  to  us, — an  undertak- 
ing which,  successfully  carried  through,  will  terminate  in  results 
exceeding  our  highest  anticipations.  But  what  we  need  in  or- 
der to  its  success  is  that  complete  organization  of  all  our  church- 
es, by  which  every  one  in  our  land  who  calls  himself  a 
Baptist,  shall  be  permitted,  at  this  end  of  a  century  of  national 
life,  to  give  testimony  to  God  and  man  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
belief  in  our  principles;  and  to  give  it  by  the  contribution  of 
not  less  than  a  dollar  from  the  poorest,  and  from  that  up  to  as 
many  thousands  as  the  richest  among  us  can  afford.  Let  this 
giving  proceed  in  all  our  churches,  and  the  result  will  exceed  the 
expectations  of  the  most  sanguine,  There  never  was  a  grander 
opportunity  in  the  history  of  any  denomination  than  that  now 
open  to  us  Baptists.  God  never  called  upon  a  Christian  people 
to  do  a  nobler  work  than  He  calls  upon  us  now  to  inaugurate. 
It  is  nothing  less  than,  in  all  our  land  to  arouse  to  the  support 
of  our  educational  institutions,  and  to  put  them  upon  bases  as 
permanent  as  the  national  life,  so  that  in  the  generations  to  come, 
one  may  say,  that  among  the  Baptists  may  be  found  institutions 
of  the  highest  learning  in  the  country. 

One  other  thing  occurs  to  me  at  this  point,  which  I  trust  I 
may  not  inappropriately  refer  to.  There  is  probably  no  denom- 
ination besides  the  Baptists,  in  which  so  large  a  proportion  of 
its  educated  men  have  received  their  education  from  colleges 
under  the  direction  of  other  sects  than  its  own.  We  have  among 
us  almost  as  many  ministers,  lawyers,  physicians  and  teachers, 
who  were  educated  in  other  colleges  than  our  own,  as  we  have 
of  those  who  were  educated  in  Baptist  institutions.  I  speak  in- 
telligently about  this,  and  for  the  best  of  reasons.  A  great  many 
Baptists,  in  the  education  of  their  sons,  forget  that  there  is  some- 
thing hallowed,  something  as  indestructible  as  life  in  the  mem- 
ories of  one's  college  days,  in  the  old  associations,  in  the  feeling 
of  the  alumnus  when  he  says  of  a  college,  "this  was  my  intel- 
lectual birth  place;  a  home  that  is  still  intellectually  and  so- 
cially dear  to  me." 

It  has  crippled  us  more  than  we  have  suspected,  that  so 
many  of  us  have  passed  their  collegiate  life  in  other  colleges 
than  our  own.  You  will  find  in  it  not  a  little  of  the  secret  of 
our  want  of  unanimity  and  co-operation.    It  is  an  evil  that 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


95 


needs  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  because  it  has  wrought 
upon  us  more  disastrously  than  we  have  begun  to  think,  and  an 
evil  that  is  spreading  fast  and  wide.  It  is  an  evil  for  the  contin- 
uance of  which  there  exists  not  the  shadow  of  a  substantial  ex- 
cuse. I  am  no  narrow  sectarian.  I  would  send  my  son  to  the 
best  college  I  could  find.  But  I  do  say,  and  I  say  it  intel- 
ligently, that  I  have  found  no  college  furnishing  a  more  thor- 
ough and  more  symmetrical  training,  a  broader  intellectual  and 
moral  culture  than  has  been  and  may  still  be  found  in  the  col- 
leges of  our  own  denomination.  I  say  this,  understanding  what 
is  the  present  position  of  Harvard,  and  what  is  the  position  of 
Yale.  I  have  said  it  in  days  past,  and  I  may  say  ic  now,  not- 
withstanding my  official  relation  to  Brown  University,  that 
neither  of  those  colleges  does  a  more  thorough  work  than  is 
done  in  some  of  the  colleges  of  our  own  denomination,  a  more 
thorough  work,  I  will  add,  though  I  say  it  who  should  not, 
than  is  now  doing  at  Brown  University.  It  is  not  altogether 
numbers  that  you  want  in  determining  the  character  of  a  col- 
lege. 

There  is  another  element  or  condition  of  power  and  pro- 
gress, of  which  we  should  be  reminded  by  what  we  have  been 
saying.  It  is  Christian  charity.  I  began  by  saying  that  a 
denomination  has  a  right  to  exist  only  so  long  as  it  subserves 
the  work  of  Christianity.  It  deserves  to  die  the  moment  it  makes 
its  own  peculiarities  predominant  over  the  great  work  of  evan- 
gelizing the  world.  Christian  charity,  therefore — a  broad,  gen- 
uine, unaffected,  spontaneous,  thoroughly  recognized  charity — 
is  a  Christian  duty.  I  have  already  said  every  man  should  see 
first  of  all,  that  his  belief  is  founded  upon  a  settled  conviction. 
A  man  that  has  no  convictions,  whose  convictions  are  not  firm, 
resolute,  unconquerable,  has  no  right  to  call  himself  a  Chris- 
tian. But  at  the  same  time,  the  truly  Christian  man  remembers 
that  all  the  various  denominations  are  working  in  a  common 
cause.  God  forbid  that  this  tongue  of  mine  should  ever  utter  a 
word  of  depreciation  of  those  who  are  working  in  the  good 
cause.  They  are  brethren.  I  have  neither  sympathy  nor  toler- 
ation for  the  man  who  believes  he  is  honoring  Christ  by  the 
denunciation  of  other  sects.  So  far  as  our  Episcopalian  brethren 
spend  their  fury  on  the  Romanists,  they  mistake.  So  long  as 
Bishop  Coxe  devotes  his  main  energy  to  denouncing  the  Roman 
Church,  I  believe  him  to  err  in  his  ministrations.  So  of  the 
Baptists  towards  any  other  sect. 


96 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


Strength  of  conviction  is  by  no  means  inconsistent  with  a 
broad,  Christian  charity.  I  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of  all  de- 
nominations of  true  Christians.  I  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of 
our  Presbyterian  brethren,  and  of  our  Congregational  brethren. 
I  do  not  say  that  I  rejoice  in  certain  things  among  them  that  I 
might  regard  as  erroneous.  But  I  say,  let  us  rejoice  that  the 
Gospel  is  propagated,  by  whomsoever  it  is  preached.  Let  ns 
not  forget  that  charity  towards  others,  producing,  by  reaction, 
a  charity  towards  ourselves,  is  one  of  the  essential  conditions  of 
the  healthful  power  and  progress  of  ourselves,  or  of  any  other 
denomination. 

Another  thing  requisite  to  the  success  of  any  denomination, 
especially  our  own,  is  consistency  in  its  ecclesiastical  obser- 
vances, consistency  in  the  administration  of  its  ecclesiastical 
government.  All  organization  rests  upon  law  and  government. 
You  can  have  no  permanent  body  without  laws,  and  no  body 
can  long  exist  without  enforcement  of  its  laws.  We,  as  a  Chris- 
tian denomination,  were  founded  upon  the  recognition  of  one 
Lawgiver,  the  one  supreme  authority  of  Christ.  The  one  fund- 
amental principle  among  our  Baptist  fathers,  under  the  supreme 
authority  of  Christ,  was  a  profound  reverence  for  the  sacredness 
of  the  individual  conscience,  the  inviolability  of  personal  relig- 
ious rights.  They  regarded  every  man  as  standing  or  falling  to 
his  own  Master.  They  did  not  judge  one  another.  They  were 
persistent  in  abstaining  from  all  church  legislation,  except  for 
suppression  of  false  doctrine,  and  immorality  of  conduct.  Laws 
against  these  two  things  they  enforced  with  great  rigor,  but  they 
recognized  the  rights  of  the  individual  conscience,  believing  that 
each  man  who  connects  himself  with  a  Christian  church,  gives 
thereby,  not  a  surrender  of  his  private  judgment,  but  a  pledge 
of  his  regard  for  the  common  brotherhood,  as  well  as  of  his 
obedience  to  the  one  common,  but  supreme  Lord  of  all. 

It  has  been  apparent  for  the  last  dozen  years,  that  there  has 
been  a  marked  tendency,  along  the  whole  line  of  the  existing 
sects,  towards  ecclesiasticism.  There  has  been  a  strong  and  accel- 
erating movement  in  that  direction  all  over  the  Christian  world. 
It  has  shown  itself  in  a  remarkable  degree  in  the  Roman  church, 
culminating  in  the  dogma  of  papal  infallibility.  The  same 
thing  has  shown  itself  in  the  ritualism  of  the  Anglican  church,  in 
the  high-church  party  of  the  Lutherans,  in  the  Presbyterian 
and  Methodist  churches,  both  abroad  and  in  this  country,  and 
last  of  all,  it  is  beginning  to  show  itself  in  our  own  denomina- 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


97 


tion.  There  is  a  growing  disposition  among  us  to  trust  in  the 
power  of  some  kind  of  ecclesiastical  authority.  The  want  of 
it  is  said  to  be  our  weakness,  and,  it  is  intimated,  may  be  our 
ruin.  We  have  been  taunted  with  the  want  of  it  by  other  sects. 
"  You  have  no  ecclesiastical  tribunal,"  it  has  been  said.  "  Your 
principles  are  a  rope  of  sand ;  you  have  no  ecclesiastical 
authority  to  enforce  them."  That  with  which  they  taunt  us  is 
our  glory.  (Applause).  We  recognize  the  authority  of  Christ 
only.  We  acknowledge  fealty  to  him  alone.  Our  great  strength 
as  a  denomination  has  been  in  the  unifying  principle  of  loyalty 
to  the  one  Lord  and  Master,  and  not  in  a  loyalty  to  traditions 
and  relics.  Our  fathers  swept  these  all  aside.  They  repudiated 
them  one  and  all,  absolutely  and  forever.  They  said,  "  It  is  to 
the  Bible  alone  that  we  appeal." 

Let  us  never  forget  that  that  was  one  of  the  grand  peculiar- 
ities of  our  fathers.  They  exalted  the  individual,  yet,  animated 
by  one  spirit  of  love  for  the  brotherhood,  they  had  few  internal 
trials  and  difficulties,  because  their  government  was  so  simple. 
Attempts  at  ecclesiastical  legislation  will  be  no  improvement  on 
their  simple  scriptural  pjan.  For  one,  I  have  more  confidence 
in  the  power  of  truth,  plainly  taught,  than  in  all  the  legislation 
that  ecclesiasticism  can  devise.  You  may  have  church  meetings 
every  week,  and  the  oftener  you  have  them,  the  oftener  you  will 
need  them.  Our  great  need  is  the  iteration  of  truth.  The  iter- 
ation of  truth  in  the  spirit  of  charity,  the  bringing  of  men  to 
look  into  the  eyes  and  hearts  of  one  another,  the  making  them 
to  feel  that  they  are  all  brethren  in  Christ — are  disciples  of  one 
Lord  and  one  Master.  That  is  the  most  effective  discipline  for 
the  erring,  and  that  is  appealing  to  the  highest  ecclesiastical 
authority.  That  controls  the  conscience.  The  moment  we 
forget  to  practice  that  kind  of  discipline,  whether  in  the  Church, 
in  the  Association,  the  Convention,  or  the  Social  Union,  that 
moment  we  abandon  the  source  of  our  strength,  and  attempt  to 
resort  to  the  beggarly  elements  of  ecclesiasticism.  The  day  we 
begin  to  rely  upon  legislation,  that  day  will  begin  our  decline. 

There  are  a  great  many  most  earnest  and  devout  men  of  our 
faith,  who  have  so  strong  a  conviction  of  the  duty  of  adhering 
to  these  our  distinctive  principles  of  government,  that  if  they 
were  forced  to  choose  between  absolute  independence  of  posi- 
tion and  submission  to  any  kind  of  ecclesiastical  dictation,  in 
whatever  form,  would  not  hesitate  for  a  moment  which  to  choose. 
This  we  must  not  forget.    We  are  treading  rapidly  upon  peril- 


98 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


ous  ground.  I  do  here  say,  with  something  of  the  solemnity  ot 
a  conviction  that  moves  my  soul  to  its  depths,  we  must  not  for- 
get that  among  us  on  all  sides  are  men  who  have  made  sacrifices, 
men  who  have  turned  their  backs  on  many  things  that  were 
dear  to  them,  in  order  to  be  true  to  their  consciences,  but  some 
of  them  hold  it  to  be  a  supreme  obligation  to  stand  true  and 
loyal  before  Christ  in  the  maintenance  of  their  profound  con- 
victions, which  are  as  sacred  to  them  as  mine  are  to  me  or  as 
yours  are  to  you.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  those  men  who 
have  sought  by  agitation  to  break  over  our  existing  usages. 
(Applause).  I  have  had  no  sympathy  and  no  conference  with 
them  neither  by  word  of  mouth,  nor  by  correspondence,  nor  in 
any  form.  I  have  felt  that  they  were  creating  false  and  useless 
issues,  issues  that  would  in  the  end  bring  nothing  but  disaster. 
I  have  believed  this  firmly.  And  on  the  other  hand  there  are 
those  among  us  who  believe  themselves  called  of  God  to  bring 
all  the  force  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  to  control  the  innovators  ; 
and  they  forget  of  what  manner  of  people  we  are  composed. 
They  forget  that  we  cannot  be  so  controlled,  brethren.  To  at- 
tempt it  will  show  our  weakness,  and  persisted  in,  I  verily  be- 
lieve will  prove  our  ruin.  I  beg  you  as  one  who  has  honestly 
attempted  to  do  some  service  to  his  denomination,  who,  I  may 
say,  has  made  some  slight  sacrifice  in  its  behalf,  I  implore  you 
for  Christ's  sake,  from  this  hour  to  abandon  all  reliance  on  ec- 
clesiastical authority  and  all  appeals  to  popular  prejudice.  In 
God's  name,  let  us  have  done  with  religious  demagogism, 
whether  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  press,  or  on  the  platform.  (Ap- 
plause). 

Now,  brethren,  these  Social  Unions,  I  have  felt  for  some  time 
past,  are  admirably  adapted,  and  I  cannot  but  think  are  in- 
tended of  God,  to  counteract  one  of  our  most  dangerous  tenden- 
cies. That  dangerous  tendency  is  in  the  centrifugal  force  so 
powerful  among  us  and  so  natural  as  the  product  of  our  individ- 
ualism. The  great  power  of  the  Social  Union  is  in  its  sponta- 
neous centripetal  energy.  But  to  be  centripetal,  it  must  be 
spontaneous.  I  was  pained  to-day  to  hear  the  desire  expressed 
to  create  a  permanent  National  Social  Union.  It  sent  a  chill 
through  my  veins.  Let  the  local  Social  Unions  work  on  freely 
and  spontaneously  as  they  are  doing.  And  when  the  spirit 
moves,  let  us  come  together  and  look  in  each  other's  faces  as  a 
National  Social  Union  and  say,  "we  have  one  end,  we  work  in 
the  si>n3  cause,  we  all  have  the  same  right  of  private  judgment, 
let  there  be  no  strife  between  us,  for  we  be  brethren."  Thus 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


99 


shall  we  bring  into  play,  one  great  principle  of  government,  by 
a  love  born  of  a  sense  of  allegiance  to  Christ,  rather  than  of  al- 
legiance to  the  church  or  the  denomination.  But  you  err  if  you 
think  you  can  control  Baptists  by  ecclesiastical  law.  You  can 
control  by  love,  by  sympathy,  by  the  union  which  love  and  sym- 
pathy produce  .In  these  lies  our  only  power.  Anything  else 
for  us  will  be  fatal.  One  great  office  of  these  Social  Unions 
so  largely  re!presented  here  to-night,  is  to  foster  that  spirit 
of  mutual  Christian  regard  of  which  they  are  themselves  but  the 
simple  and  natural  expression;  and  one  special  method  of  fos- 
tering it  is  by  gathering  around  the  supper  table.  One  of  the 
essential  elements  of  all  friendships  is  gastric  juice.  Wherever 
you  find  true  friendship  and  fellowship,  there  is  always  an  eating 
together.  You  may  take  it  as  an  invariable  rule,  that  where 
there  is  no  supper  there  is  no  Social  Union. 

But,  brethren,  to  pause  and  to  pass  to  something  more 
seriour,  just  as  the  supper  is  essential  to  the  Social  Union,  so> 
also,  a  provision  for  the  social  element  of  our  natures,  was  one 
deep  reason  why  our  Lord  broke  bread  and  drank  of  the  cup, 
and  said,  "  As  often  as  ye  do  this,  do  it  in  remembrance  of  me." 
One  great  purpose  of  this  is,  a  provision  for  the  social  element. 
We  need  to  rid  ourselves  of  the  Romish  idea  that  the  sacred  sup- 
per is  a  kind  of  sacrifice  requiring  priestly  consecration.  It  can- 
not be  so  regarded,  except  by  an  abominable  and  unchristian 
perversion  of  both  its  nature  and  design.  But  the  coming 
together,  socially,  of  those  who  believe  in  a  common  Lord,  and 
their  fellowship  in  eating  and  drinking  together,  in  commemor- 
ation of  Him  as  dead,  but  risen,  is  emblematic  of  that  immortal 
union  of  believers  with  one  another,  and  with  their  common 
Redeemer,  to  which  all  alike  are  ever  looking  forward.  We 
are  all  brethren.  Let  us  do  what  we  one  and  all  can,  to  arrest 
that  fearful  tendency  towards  disunion,  that  bitter  spirit  of  de- 
nunciation and  discord,  now  making  such  rapid  strides  to- 
wards a  hopeless  separation  of  brethren.  May  God  avert  our 
threatened  calamities.  We  are  one  in  name,  let  us  remain  one 
in  spirit  and  purpose,  indivisible  in  Christ,  now  and  forever. 
(Applause). 

Upon  the  motion  of  Mr.  Howard,  of  Conn.,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  should 
be  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Brooklyn   Baptist  Social  Union.      Members,  in 


IOO 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


answer  to  inquiries  as  to  number  of  copies  which  would 
be  required,  ordered  as  follows,  for  their  respective 
Unions : 

Boston  300.    New  York  300.    Connecticut  ..  150. 

Worcester  100.    Springfield,..  ..100.    Washington.  ..  25. 

Rhode  Island..  100.    Philadelphia  ...  150.    Cincinnati....  100. 

The  President  : — The  hour  of  adjournment  has  arrived, 
unless  some  other  business  is  offered. 

Mr.  George  H.  Andrews,  of  New  York: — I  think  there  is 
one  more  resolution  which  ought  to  be  passed,  with  very  great 
unanimity.  I  move  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  So- 
cial Union,  for  what  has  passed,  and  for  the  elegant  manner  in 
which  it  has  entertained  its  sister  unions. 

The  President  : — I  am  sure  we  are  all  very  much  obliged 
to  Mr.  Andrews.  I  will  not  insult  the  convention  by  calling 
for  the  noes. 

The  motion  was  adopted  unanimously. 

The  President  : — It  is  moved  and  seconded  that  the  Con- 
vention do  now  adjourn. 

The  motion  was  adopted,  and  the  Convention  ad 
journed  sine  die. 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


101 


THE  REUNION. 


Upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention,  the  mem- 
bers assembled  for  a  social  reunion.  A  blessing  was 
asked  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas,  of  Brooklyn,  after  which 
a  collation  was  served. 

Address  of  Welcome. 

Mr.  M.  H.  Dorman,  President  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social 
Union  : — Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  This  meeting  is  the  Sixth 
Anniversary  of  the  Brooklyn  Baptist  Social  Union.  It  is  no 
longer  an  experiment,  for  such  organizations  have  shown  them- 
selves to  be  no  mere  luxury,  but  a  necessity  in  our  denomina- 
tional activities.  Yet,  in  this  enlightened  age,  and  in  this  en- 
lightened community,  there  still  are  those  who  ask,  "  What  is 
the  good  of  it  ?"  just  as  there  are  men  who  think  that  good  pur- 
poses can  flow  in  only  two  channels,  the  prayer-meeting,  and 
raising  money,  or,  when  we  step  outside  of  the  act  of  worship, 
every  organization  must  have  a  moneyed  centre  as  a  rallying 
point  or  battle  ground,  or  it  will  not  succeed. 

That  we  may  best  give  helpful  sympathy  to  one  another, 
we  need  personal  acquaintance.  Locally,  the  churches  supply 
this,  but  when  the  arms  reach  out  farther,  without  the  Social 
Union,  and  in  this  direction,  almost  entirely  it  ceases.  These 
organizations  of  Social  Unions  have  rendered  this  Convention 
which  has  just  closed,  a  possibility,  and  because  of  it,  men  go 
out  from  here  to-night  into  every  section  of  this  country,  who 
have  been  made  more  strong,  more  purposeful,  more  firmly 
united,  for,  like  Paul  at  Apii  Forum,  they  have  u  met  the  breth- 
ren," and  they  "thank  God  and  take  courage."  In  this  Conven- 
tion, the  same  unerring  voice  that  roused  the  prostrate  Saul,  of 

,  Tarsus,  has  spoken  with  command  as  clear  to  every  Baptist  lay- 
man of  America,  "  Rise  and  stand  upon  thy  feet."    We  have 

I  only  begun  to  learn  and  to  see  the  forces  of  infinite  power  laid 


102  Proceedings  of  Convention. 


out  before  us  in  Christian  work,  just  as  we  have  only  begun  to 
use  the  forces  of  nature  which  hold  themselves  ready  to  do  the 
bidding  of  Him  who  is  able  to  command.  It  was  a  great  thing 
to  harness  the  lightning  and  the  steam,  and  make  them  the  mes- 
sengers of  mankind.  It  is  a  greater  thing  to  seize  the  powers  of 
social  influence,  and  mould  them  into  the  service  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  In  that  old  Scotch  legend,  when  the  herald,  with 
fleetest  foot,  bore  over  the  land  that  bloody,  fiery  cross,  the  sig- 
nal of  war,  his  only  commission  was,  "  Speed  forth  the  signal !" 
As  he  entered  the  halls  of  greatness,  where  the  marriage  bells 
were  rung,  bridegroom  and  guest  heard  the  voic  j  as  he  cried, 
"  Speed  forth  the  signal  !"  and  they  obeyed  the  command  to  rally 
for  the  conflict.  As  he  entered  the  house  of  mourning,  where 
bitter  tears  fell  over  the  loved  and  the  lost,  he  cried  again, 
"  Speed  forth  the  signal  !"  and  the  bereaved  son  obeyed.  And 
when  our  pastors  and  teachers  hold  up  the  blood-stained  cross, 
the  token  at  once  of  conflict  and  of  victory,  crying  "  Speed  forth 
the  signal!"  may  we  heed,  too,  the  command,  "Organize! 
Organize!"  for  the  conflict  between  light  and  darkness,  between 
the  powers  above  and  the  powers  beneath.  Let  us  organize  in 
the  direction  of  social  influence.  Will  you  not  stand  by  the 
Social  Union  ?  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Dorman  : — I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you, 
the  Honorable  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Governor-elect  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Tilden  : — Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  I  am  under  a  vow  of 
silence  for  three  weeks,  (laughter),  so  I  have  come  here  to-night 
to  join  in  the  appropriate  pleasures  of  the  evening,  and  not  to 
make  a  speech.  I  came  after  a  weary  day,  but  I  have  listened 
to  the  very  interesting  and  instructive  address  of  President  Rob- 
inson, and  so  clear  was  his  language,  so  clear  in  his  thoughts, 
that  I  rested  as  I  listened  to  every  word  he  had  to  say.  Ot 
course,  I  don't  attempt  to  controvert  anything  he  had  to  say.  I 
should  have  found  that  laborious  and  fruitless.  I  congratulate 
you,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  upon  this  festival,  to  me  so  novel, 
so  peculiar,  and  so  interesting,  as  you  join,  on  this  occasion, 
social  observances  and  social  pleasures  with  the  religious 
and  educational  objects  that  have  assembled  you  together. 
I  am  quite  sure  that  you  have  wisely  chosen  a  method  to 
conceive  and  carry  forward  the  great  and  serious  object  to 
which  you  are  devoted.     I  am  glad  to  find  here  representatives 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


103 


from  all  parts  of  the  Union.  Of  course,  I  understand  that 
it  is  the  peculiar  and  crowning  glory  of  your  denomination, 
that  from  its  first  institution,  you  have  worked  among  the 
lowly.  (Applause.)  You  have  sought  to  teach,  to  instruct, 
and  to  lead  onward  in  the  paths  of  right  and  religion,  the  poor 
and  the  humble,  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other  denomination. 
Those  whom  the  Great  Teacher  sought  to  teach,  it  has  been  the 
peculiar  honor  and  peculiar  service  to  mankind  and  to  human- 
ity, of  the  Baptist  denomination,  likewise  to  lead,  to  instruct,  to 
cultivate  and  to  elevate.  I  hope  you  may  remember,  on  this  fes- 
tival occasion,  and  on  all  other  occasions  of  a  similar  descrip- 
tion, that  the  circle  of  holy  charities  and  Christian  fellowship  is 
to  be  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  In  that  vast 
region  that  lies  in  the  southernmost  part  of  our  union,  there  is 
a  missionary  field  that  you,  perhaps,  more  fitly,  more  success- 
fully, and  more  ably  than  anybody  else  can  cultivate.  I  wish, 
therefore,  to  invite  your  attention  in  that  direction.  I  wish  to 
inculcate  upon  you,  on  this  occasion,  the  great,  the  interesting, 
the  solemn,  the  glorious  duties,  and  the  high  aims  which  will 
be  before  you.  It  will  bring  back  the  relations  which  existed 
half  a  century  ago  with  the  people  of  that  section.  I  am  quite 
sure  that  you  will  discover  that  this  is  a  work  to  which  you  are 
peculiarly  called.  After  ten  years  of  peace,  ten  years  of  peace 
so  far  as  the  clash  of  arms  is  concerned,  I  hope  that  you  will  all 
see  that  this  section  must  have  a  real  peace.  The  people  must 
be  united  in  the  bonds  of  Christian  fellowship,  in  order  to  make 
a  real  union,  a  real  peace  in  any  country.  Ladies  and  gentle- 
men, thanking  you  for  your  kind  attention,  I  beg  your  indul- 
gence. I  have  already  said,  perhaps,  more  than  I  ought,  cer- 
tainly, more  than  I  intended,  and  I  will  now  yield  to  the  gentle- 
men who  are  to  come  after  me.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Dorman  : — I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you 
the  Honorable  William  Gaston,  of  Boston.  He,  too,  is  one 
of  the  elect.    He  is  Governor-elect  of  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Gaston  : — Mr.  President,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 
I  thank  you  as  I  come  within  the  limits  of  your  great  common- 
wealth, for  the  kindness  of  your  welcome,  and  I  am  quite  con- 
scious of  how  much  of  it  I  owe  to  your  regard  for  the  State  from 
which  I  come.  (Applause.)  But  although  it  is  not  my  privi- 
lege to  speak  for  Massachusetts  other  than  as  one  of  her  cit- 
izens, yet,  I  will  venture,  in  that  capacity,  to  thank  you  for  the 


io4 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


respect  you  have  shown  to  the  State,  and  the  kind  manner  in 
which  you  have  welcomed  me  within  your  limits^  I  am  not, 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  under  a  vow  of  silence,  but,  perhaps,  if  I 
should  continue  to  any  length,  you  would  wish  that  I  was.  I 
did  not  come  here  to  make  a  speech,  but  I  did  bring  an  attentive 
ear,  for  I  was  assured  that  if  I  came  here  I  would  find  able  and 
eloquent  gentlemen,  who  would  instruct  me,  and  for  that  pur- 
pose, I  am  here.  Now,  being  ready  to  listen,  I  yield  to  that 
eloquent  gentleman  whom  I  was  promised  I  would  hear,  again 
thanking  you  for  the  kindness  and  generosity  of  your  welcome. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  Dorman  : — I  have  called  upon  those  who  are  to  be  in 
authority — I  will  now  call  upon  one  who  is  already  in  authority, 
Mayor  Hunter,  of  Brooklyn. 

Mayor  Hunter  : — Ladies  and  gentlemen,  from  all  parts  of 
this  country  :  I  am  only  here  to  bid  you  welcome  to  this 
city.  It  is  called  the  city  of  churches,  it  may  be  called  the  city 
of  generous  hearts.  Probably  you  will  find  it  so.  You  will  find 
the  protection  of  the  municipal  power  of  the  city,  if  you  ever 
need  it.  I  was  only  asked  late  in  the  day  to  come  here,  as  the 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  said,  to  listen  and  to  learn.  I  have 
learned  this,  that  you  come  here  banded  together  for  Christian 
work  and  development.  If  Christianity  is  not  a  development,  I 
should  like  to  learn  what  it  is.  If  it  is  not  a  development  of 
man's  kindness  towards  his  fellowmen,  to  learn  better  and  bet- 
ter how  to  enlarge  that,  I  should  like  to  know  what  else  it  is.  I 
think  you  have  taken  that  lesson  deeply  into  your  hearts.  You 
have  banded  together  here  for  what?  Not  for  the  social  tea 
party,  but  for  doing  some  higher  good  to  your  fellow  men. 
Whether  you  can  do  it  as  a  sect,  is  a  matter  upon  which  I  am 
not  going  to  quarrel  with  you.  I  suppose  you,  as  all  sects  are 
doing,  are  running  a  through  train,  and  will  take  anybody  who 
will  go  with  you.  I  hope  you  will  be  successful,  as  well  as  all 
of  them.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Dorman  : — Governor  Tilden  has  spoken  of  the  South. 
We  have  one  brother  here  to-night,  a  representative  of  the 
South,  who  has  made  great  personal  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of 
theological  education.  I  refer  to  Rev.  Dr.  Boyce,  of  Louisville, 
Ky. 

Dr.  Boyce  : — Ladies  and  gentlemen  :  It  seems  to  me,  that 
you  have  begun  the  night  very  well — two  democratic  governors, 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


one  democratic  mayor,  and  now,  a  reconstructed  rebel.  (Laugh- 
ter.) I  hope  that  the  digestion  of  this  body  will  not  be  seriously 
affected,  but  that  they  will  be  ready  to  go  forward  to  the  nicer 
delicacies  which  have  been  prepared,  and  which  will,  in  some 
respects,  be  more  congenial  to  this  hour.  I  am  very  glad  that 
I  have  been  here  during  this  meeting.  I  got  my  invitation  a 
little  late.  I  didn't  know  exactly  why.  I  knew  that  my  shoul- 
ders were  somewhat  broad,  but  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
my  brothers  had  been  seeking  for  some  one  whose  shoulders 
were  "  Broadus"  still,  and  as  they  could  not  get  the  one,  they 
took  the  other.  I  didn't  know  but  perhaps  there  had  been  some- 
thing produced  by  a  certain  sermon,  which  was  peculiar  in 
some  respects,  though  not  in  others,  and  perhaps  it  might  have 
been  imagined  that  it  would  not  do  to  introduce  one  who  had 
been  connected  with  the  Southern  party.  But  I  can  show  a 
pretty  good  record.  Do  you  remember  that  there  was  a  certain 
gentleman,  a  clergyman  of  this  city,  whose  boast  it  was,  that  on 
a  certain  occasion,  he  had  the  privilege  of  sleeping  with  a  col- 
ored clergyman  of  Boston,  and  the  remark  that  was  made,  that 
perhaps  he  was  darker  still  than  the  clergyman  with  whom  he 
slept.  I  want  to  make  an  explanation  of  my  own  condition. 
I  might  say  something,  as  we  all  can  in  the  South,  of  somewhat 
similar  experiences,  when  we  were  loyal  folks.  But  I  am  speak- 
ing of  the  laymen  now.  Read  the  book  called  Pickwick  Papers. 
You  will  remember  when  a  person  was  watching  in  the  garden, 
and  saw  a  sight  which  was  wonderful  to  him,  and  walked  up  to 
the  old  lady  who  was  sleeping  in  the  arbor,  and  said  to  her,  "  I 
wants  to  make  your  flesh  creep."  Of  course,  she  was  alarmed. 
"  I  wants  to  make  your  flesh  creep,"  he  said,  and  then  he  began 
to  tell  what  he  had  seen.  "  What  do  you  think  I  see  in  this 
very  arbor  last  night  ?"  inquired  the  boy.  "  Bless  us  ! — what  ?" 
exclaimed  the  old  lady.  "The  strange  gentleman — him  as  had 
his  arm  hurt — a  kissin'  and  huggin'  " — "  Who,  Joe,  who  ?  None 
of  the  servants,  I  hope."  "  Worser  than  that,"  roared  the  boy 
as  he  told  her  that  it  was  her  own  daughter.  I  have  been  some- 
what in  that  predicament.  I  have  not  had  the  opportunity  of 
sleeping  with  a  colored  clergyman  in  the  past,  but  it  has  been 
"  worser  than  that"  in  my  experience.  Why,  sir,  at  the  Sunday 
School  Convention,  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  sleeping  with  the  excellent  clergyman  who  was  darker  than 
the  colored  clergyman  himself.  Under  these  circumstances,  I 
make  a  better  reconstructed  man  than  any  man  in  this  house, 


io6 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


and  have  a  better  right  to  be  here.  I  don't  choose  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  point  that  in  the  heavenly  hosts  above,  there  are 
those  who  are  nearest  to  the  throne,  who  have  been  recon- 
structed rebels.  I  claim  the  right  on  my  merits.  Having  my 
rights,  I  rejoice  that  my  brothers  recognize  them,  and  invite  me 
here  to-night. 

I  feel  under  extreme  obligations  to  many  of  the  brethren 
whom  I  see  before  me  to-night,  for  the  most  liberal  response 
made  by  them  to  my  brother  Broadus,  at  a  time  when  the 
Seminary  I  have  charge  of  was  in  great  difficultv.  I  contend 
that  there  never  has  been  a  contribution  made  as  a  contribution 
such  as  that  in  which  they  were  at  that  time  engaged.  Remem- 
ber the  circumstances  of  the  past  year.  Remember  the  opening 
of  that  year.  Remember  the  impoverished  condition  of  the 
Southern  people.  About  a  year  ago  we  sent  out  circulars  ask- 
ing for  $75,000,  without  having  paid  a  single  personal  visit,  ex- 
cept visiting  the  Convention  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  the 
Convention  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  in  Texas;  by  means 
of  letters,  instead  of  getting  $75,000,  I  raised  $94,000  for  that 
Seminary.  And,  Sir,  I  tell  you  that  a  most  thrilling  thing  in 
connection  with  it,  was  when  we  received  first  a  telegram  and 
then  a  letter,  telling  us  how  generously  the  Northren  brethren, 
assembled  in  Washington,  in  twelve  minutes  had  raised  $12,000. 
I  see  many  around  me  who  were  engaged  in  it,  and  I  thank 
them  most  heartily.  I  think  your  work  is  a  good  work  for  the 
denomination  and  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  say  to  you, 
raise  your  millions  and  endow  your  institutions.  Help  us  it 
you  can  in  this  matter.  I  say  to  you  this, — the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  brought  us  to  a  real  crisis  in  the  history  of  our  de- 
nomination. In  the  past  what  have  we  been  able  to  do?  Why 
is  it  that  God  kept  down  our  powers,  but  that  we  might  present 
ourselves  as  a  power  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  this  great  Amer- 
ican Republic.  Beginning  only  a  hundred  years  ago,  with  only 
a  few  thousand  members,  we  have  so  grown  that  we  have  now 
within  our  limits  over  1,700,000  Baptists,  13,000  ministers,  and 
17,000  or  18,000  churches  throughout  our  land.  Now  I  believe 
that  God  has  heard  us  in  the  past.  It  now  needs  only  a  little 
impetus  to  bring  our  work  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world,  and 
advance  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Therefore  there  is  a  duty  upon 
us  to  seize  the  opportunity  and  go  forward  with  energy.  I  wish 
that  the  portion  of  the  denomination  that  I  belong  to  in  the 
South,  were  able  to  stand  by  you.    They  will  stand  side  by  side 


Baptist  Social  Unions.  107 

with  you,  so  far  as  their  ability  goes.  As  President  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention,  I  say  to  you,  that  we  shall  have 
a  meeting  next  year  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  Let  us  have  a  grand 
celebration  and  get  together  again,  and  go  out  to  our  Fort 
Sumter,  and  let  us  talk  it  all  over,  and  let  us  have  peace.  (Ap- 
plause). 

Mr.  Dorm  an  : — We  have  heard  from  two  Governors-elect, 
from  one  Mayor,  and  from  one  President;  I  will  now  call  upon 
an  ex-President,  the  ex-President  of  the  Connecticut  Social 
Union.    I  now  introduce  Mr.  James  L.  Howard. 

Mr.  James  L.  Howard: — Mr.  President,  I  am  somewhat  re- 
bellious to-night. — I  am  not  prepared  with  a  speech.  I  spoke 
fur  Connecticut  this  morning,  and  now  that  I  am  called  upon 
again,  I  hardly  know  what  to  say.  I  have  been  filled  with  the 
importance  of  this  Convention.  I  have  been  filled  with  the  sub- 
ject of  education,  and  with  that  Centennial  work  which  we  pro- 
pose. I  have  felt  as  though  we  were  indeed  entering  upon  a 
great  work  as  Baptists;  that  there  was  a  work  that  we  should 
do,  and  as  such  I  have  felt  proud  that  I  was  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  Social  Union.  I  think  we  shall  be  able  to  carry  forward 
this  great  work.  I  must  not  forget  that  I  was  "  originally  "  born 
in  Vermont,  and  I  may  state  that  I  am  not  the  only  one  who 
came  from  Vermont,  for  there  is  my  friend  Dr.  Cutting  who 
was  born  in  the  same  State.  (Laughter).  We  came  from  the 
town  of  Windsor,  celebrated  for  having  the  State  Prison  there, 
and  for  having  given  us  birth. 

I  thought  what  had  been  done  was  by  a  little  quiet  leaven 
working  around  in  the  mass,  but  I  feel  proud  that  it  originated 
with  my  fellow  townsman  Dr.  Cutting.  He  is  powerful  in  a 
good  many  ways.  A  little  incident  wTas  related  to  me  this 
evening, — as  he  is  not  present — I  will  tell  it.  I  was  on  my  way 
to  Washington  where  I  met  Brother  Cutting.  Brother  Chase 
had  a  little  bill  to  get  through,  and  it  was  within  two  days  of  the 
end  of  the  session.  The  bill  was  lying  in  the  package  on  the 
Vice-President's  desk,  sticking  out  two  or  three  inches  beyond 
the  rest.  It  was  called  up,  and  a  Senator  arose  and  made  a 
speech  in  favor  of  it.  Another  arose  and  spoke  against  it  very 
earnestly.  Brother  Cutting  said  to  brother  Chase, — "Are  you 
interested  in  that?"  He  said, — "Yes, — pray  for  it  Doctor." 
The  bill  was  passed,  and  I  could  not  make  Brother  Chase  be- 
lieve that  that  was  not  in  answTer  to  the  prayer  right  on  the 


io8  Proceedings  of  Convention. 


spot !  But  I  am  not  going  to  encroach  on  your  time  for  fear 
you  will  find  out  that  I  have  not  anything  to  say.  Thanking 
you  for  your  attention,  I  will  bid  you  good-night. 

Mr.  Dorman  : — I  now  have  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon  a 
representative  of  the  press,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Bright  of 
New  York. 

Dr.  Bright  : — I  suppose  you  are  aware,  sir,  that  the  tend- 
ency of  the  editorial  profession  is  to  beget  a  very  remarkable 
degree  of  bashfulness,  and  it  is  a  pretty  severe  trial  to  call  upon 
a  modest  editor  to  stand  here  and  say  anything  about  the 
press.  And  yet  I  understand  perfectly  why  these  Social  Unions 
wish  to  have  the  press  magnified.  I  recollect  that  the  press 
gave  to  Columbian  University  its  President.  President  Welling 
would  never  have  been  in  that  chair  had  it  not  been  that  he  was 
first  an  editor.  And  then  I  remember,  too,  that  the  Jupiter 
Tonans  of  our  Presidential  line,  was  himself  made  the  Presi- 
dent of  Rochester  University  through  the  education  he  obtained 
in  the  press.  And  everybody  knows  that  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  training  he  obtained  in  the  press,  our  friend  Moss  would 
not  have  been  in  the  position  he  occupies  in  Chicago  to-day. 
All  these  examples  show  the  effect  of  the  press  in  the  cause  of 
education.  But  there  is  still  one  more  illustrious  example  of 
what  the  press  has  done  for  the  cause  of  education.  You  all 
know  our  gifted  and  magnificent  centennarian — no,  not  that — 
our  gifted  and  magnificent  centennialist.  Where  did  he  come 
from  ?  How  did  brother  Cutting  come  to  be  what  he  is. 
How  is  it  that  he  has  given  this  great  inspiration  throughout 
this  entire  land,  to  this,  the  sublimest  of  all  our  denominational 
enterprises.  Of  course,  it  was  the  training  he  got  as  an  editor, 
that  made  him  what  he  is.  Now,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
say  anything  more  with  reference  to  the  press  this  evening.  I 
know  not  what  will  be  the  next  development  of  this  work  of 
training  with  Dr.  Cutting,  but  it  certainly  will  have  to  be 
something  great  to  keep  pace  with  what  it  has  been  hitherto. 

I  will  simply  close  with  this  declaration,  that  I  thank  God 
to-night,  sir,  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  deep,  genuine,  consis- 
tent, Baptist  conviction.  (Applause.)  And  I  rejoice,  further- 
more sir,  that  there  is  a  mighty  host  of  Baptists  who  count  it 
their  highest  honor,  their  highest  glory,  their  greatest  joy,  to 
promulgate  this  conviction,  with  malice  towards  none,  with 
charity  for  all.    (Applause.)    And  while  they  propagate  these 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


109 


convictions  with  unfaltering  determination,  they  hold  that  the 
brother  that  is  not  living  up  to  and  walking  consistently  with 
these  convictions,  that  he  is  a  brother  who  is  scarcely  worth  the 
having. 

Mr.  Dorman": — I  will  now  have  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon 
a  brother  from  the  centre  of  civilization,  General  Eaton,  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Education  at  Washington. 

General  Eaton  : — Ladies  and  gentlemen  :  I  have  been  made 
the  recipient  of  this  courtesy,  and  I  suppose  that  one  cause  for 
it  is  that  the  figures  on  education  which  are  annually  gathered 
at  Washington  are  scattered  abroad  for  your  benefit.  But  it  has 
been  a  great  favor  to  me  to  receive  this  courtesy.  I  often  meet 
with  the  names  of  these  eminent  doctors  here  in  the  statistics 
of  their  institutions,  and  it  has  been  exceedingly  agreeable  to 
come  here  and  see  them  transformed  to  living  persons,  those 
who  are  guiding  and  training  in  these  institutions,  to  which 
men  with  a  conscience  in  them  have  given  their  means  for  their 
foundation.  (Applause.)  Yes,  there  is  a  centre  ;  yes,  there  is 
a  circumference,  and  it  is  to  my  mind  fortunate  that  there  is  a 
connection  between  the  centre  of  this  great  work  and  its  out- 
lying circumference.  Morning  by  morning  you  read  the  weather 
reports.  You  accept  their  lesson,  gathered  from  a  knowledge 
of  the  movements  of  the  currents  of  the  air,  and  telegraphed  all 
over  the  country.  In  education,  there  are  great  currents  in 
motion,  and  if  I  understand  my  work,  it  is  in  the  collection  of 
these  figures,  which  indicate  these  movements  in  the  college 
world,  in  the  academy  world,  in  the  public  school  world,  in  all 
the  departments  of  education,  to  gather  and  incorporate  the  ex- 
perience of  its  workers,  and  give  each  the  benefit  of  what  has 
been  done  by  all.  Of  course,  the  reporter  of  the  weather,  at 
Washington,  can  only  communicate  what  he  receives  from  the 
various  observers.  This  is  all  I  can  do,  and  if  these  reports 
have  the  value  which  you,  gentlemen,  who  are  judges,  have  ex- 
pressed, it  is  due  to  the  reports  which  have  come  from  all  quar- 
ters, all  classes  and  grades  of  instruction,  only  summarized, 
giving  the  result  of  wisdom  which  is  possible  nowhere  else  in 
the  world,  because  nowhere  are  there  so  many  diverse  extremes 
of  all  forms  of  instruction  in  one  nation,  among  one  people, 
that  can  be  possibly  gathered,  as  with  us,  and  there  is  a  certain 
agreeableness  between  the  genius  of  this  movement  and  the 
genius  of  this  meeting,  as  I  have  understood  it.    It  is  an  appeal 


no 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


to  reason  from  the  force  of  facts,  and  facts  only.  It  has  received 
no  authority  but  that  of  experience.  If,  now,  there  has  been  a 
great  experiment  in  the  matter  of  endowments,  if  there  have 
been  certatn  errors  in  bestowing  money  on  institutions,  certain 
errors  of  limitation,  certain  looseness,  certain  defects  of  man- 
agement of  these  funds  after  their  bestowal,  these  experiences, 
instead  of  benefiting  one  class,  or  one  institution,  may  benefit 
the  whole,  and  I  have  been  interested  in  thinking,  to-day,  as 
you  have  been  discussing  various  points  here,  one  busied  with 
one  thought,  another  with  another,  all  working  harmoniously 
into  the  great  whole,  of  how  much  there  is  to  aid  in  these  points, 
which  is  outside  in  the  experience  of  somebody  else.  Now,  this 
denomination  would  do  the  cause  of  education  an  immense  ser- 
vice, if  it  would  gather  the  experience  of  all  the  endowed  insti- 
tutions, secondary  and  superior,  and  spread  it  abroad  over  our 
country.  You  may  have  noticed,  that  there  have  been  two  or 
three  great  commissions  gathering  these  facts.  These  public 
ministries  would  be  a  great  thing  for  the  millionaires  of  our 
country,  who  wish  to  give  of  their  wealth  to  these  institutions. 

I  came  to  learn  a  lesson  here  to-day  in  education.  I  am 
thankful  that  I  have  seen  the  movement  of  thoughts,  and  feel- 
ings, and  energy  here,  for  I  feel  that  here  is  hope,  here  is  assu- 
rance of  forward  movement.  And  when  I  reflect  that  this  is 
only  one  denomination,  and  look  around  and  see  that  you  are 
gathered  in  this  house  to  move  forward,  not  as  antagonists,  but 
in  competition  with  other  bodies,  I  feel  the  strength  of  the  edu- 
cational sentiment  of  the  country.  I  am  again  assured  as  I 
turn  to  other  organizations  in  the  country. 

There  is  another  pleasing  thought.  You  comprehend  so 
much  of  the  country.  You  come  from  so  many  quarters,  and  I 
have  thought  that  your  coming  together  has  brought  here  all 
the  wise  men  among  you.  I  remember  when  Dr.  Cutting  be- 
gan to  talk  to  me  of  his  Educational  organizations.  He  said  he 
thought  he  would  throw  over  the  late  unpleasantness,  an  edu- 
cational bridge.  You  see  what  is  coming  from  it.  I  have  seen 
it  too — not  only  in  these  theological  organizations,  but  in  the 
institutions  of  learning  in  the  South.  I  have  noticed  that  the 
death  of  a  child  will  make  great  enemies  friends — I  have  noticed 
when  the  Chinaman  comes  to  my  office,  or  the  Japanese  or  the 
Parsee,  no  matter  whom  he  may  be, — from  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  earth,  to  talk  about  the  child,  we  come  together.  And  so  in 
our  country,  we  have  so  many  races  of  men,  from  so  many  na- 


Baptist  Social  Unions. 


1 1 1 


tions  of  the  earth  ;  and  so  the  American  people  by  advancing 
their  education  and  bringing  to  themselves  the  advantage  of  the 
best  experience  and  methods  of  the  world,  become  peculiarly 
sympathetic  with  all  the  races  of  the  world,  and  it  is  pleasant  to 
hear  it  responded  to  by  those  foreign  races.  Said  Baron  Sch- 
wartz to  me  the  other  day — "  we  are  one  people,  only  we  speak 
diffierent  tongues."  (Applause). 

Mr.  Dorman: — I  now  call  upon  the  Rev.  Dr.  Strong,  ot 
Rochester. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Strong  : — Mr.  President,  the  hour  is  late,  and  as  I 
have  already  taken  some  slight  part  in  the  exercises  of  the  day, 
I  think  that  I  can  conclude  this  brief  address  in  no  better  way, 
than  by  telling  you  of  a  certain  bachelor  clergyman  of  England, 
who  always  took  his  revenge  on  the  marriage  relation  in  this 
way.  After  he  had  married  a  pair,  he  would  refuse  any  fee, 
saying — "No,  you  poor  wretch,  I  have  done  you  harm  enough 
already."  (Applause). 

Mr.  Dorman  : — I  have  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon  a  broth- 
er to  whose  wisdom  in  its  entire  management,  this  Convention 
owes  so  much  for  its  success.  I  call  upon  the  Hon.  Francis 
Wayland. 

Gov.  Wayland  : — Mr.  President,  gentlemen  and  ladies,  I 
dare  say  that  when  I  have  finished,  you  will  be  reminded  of  the 
ancient  couplet : — 

"  The  King  of  France,  with  forty-thousand  men, 
Marched  up  a  hill,  and  then — 
Marched  down  again." 

My  voice  has  necessarily  been  heard  so  often,  sir,  during 
these  proceedings,  that  I  should  have  insisted  on  retaining  my 
seat,  but  for  the  opportunity  your  kindness  gives  me  to  correct, 
what  I  dare  say,  most  of  you  have  forgotten,  of  the  false  position 
in  which  I  was  placed  with  reference  to  the  clerical  profession. 
I  was  understood  to  have  made  some  remarks,  the  tendency  of 
which  was  to  throw  some  discredit  upon  the  clerical  profession. 
I  was  even  understood  to  insinuate  that  they  didn't  know  when 
to  stop  if  they  once  began  to  speak.  The  specimen  we  have 
just  had  shows  how  false  that  was.  (Laughter).  What  I  mean 
to  say  was  that  in  these  gatherings  of  Social  Unions,  there  was 
danger  that  the  lay-element  might  not  develop  itself,  as  it  would 


112 


Proceedings  of  Convention 


be  overshadowed  by  the  greater  practice  of  any  speakers  from 
among  our  clerical  friends.  Now«sir,  as  I  have  what  I  conceive 
to  be  a  great  honor  of  being  the  son  of  a  clergyman,  the  grand- 
son of  a  clergyman,  the  nephew  of  a  clergyman,  and  the  brother 
of  a  clergyman,  it  would  be  very  strange  if  I  had  not  due  honor 
for  the  clerical  profession.  I  conceive  this  to  be  a  great  honor. 
I  was  not  born  great,  I  certainly  have  not  achieved  greatness, 
but  this  is  a  greatness  which  has  been  thrust  upon  me.  I  cer- 
tainly have  every  sympathy  with  the  work  of  the  clergy,  and  I 
now  have  a  story  to  tell,  after  paying  my  tribute  to  the  clergy. 
I  sympathize  very  heartily  with  that  layman  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee, who  was  seeking  to  call  a  clergyman,  and  who  received 
a  reply  from  him,  in  answer  to  the  many  suggestions  why  he 
should  come  to  the  church,  in  which  he  said,  that  "  none  of 
these  things  moved  him."  The  enthusiastic  layman  immediate- 
ly wrote  back,  "  we  will  vote  $500  to  move  you."  This  spirit  is 
that  with  which  I  sympathize.  (Applause). 

Mr.  Dorman  : — I  now  call  upon  a  brother  who  is  present, 
from  the  northwest,  whose  voice  is  always  gladly  heard  in  this 
denomination,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Moss,  of  Chicago. 

Dr.  Moss,  of  Chicago  : — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for 
calling  upon  me  to  respond  for  Chicago.  We  are  in  the  habit 
of  boasting  of  great  things,  but  the  truth  is,  that  we  always  do 
greater  things.  I  don't  know  of  any  place  in  the  country  where 
there  are  so  many  miles  of  fine  buildings,  with  such  heavy 
mortgages  upon  them,  or  where  bigger  jobs  can  be  done.  I  will 
venture  to  suggest,  that  if  the  mayor  of  this  village  wants  any 
building  done,  he  had  better  bring  it  out  to  Chicago,  and  if 
Governor  Tilden  should  want  a  canai  dredged,  bring  it  along, 
and  so  far  as  the  Hoosac  tunnel  was  concerned,  we  can  furnish 
more  and  better  bores,  free  of  cost,  than  anybody  else.  So  much 
for  that.  I  have  scarcely  met  anybody  since  I  left  Chicago, 
without  meeting  people  who  wanted  to  inquire  for  some  friend 
or  other,  but  those  whom  I  have  met,  and  who  have  mortgages 
in  Chicago,  and  there  are  a  great  many  of  them  here,  I  have 
advised  to  look  after  their  property.  I  told  them  that  the  best 
way  they  could  do  that  was  to  endow  the  University  of  Chicago, 
because  money  was  always  better  secured  where  the  community 
is  educated,  and,  inasmuch  as  they  had  invested  so  much  there 
permanently,  because  they  will  never  get  it  back  again,  they  can 
do  no  better  than  invest  a  little  more  in  our  University.    So  all 


Baptist  Social  Unions.  113 

men  who  are  interested  in  such  stock  of  any  kind,  this  is  your 
chance.  I  have  enjoyed  this  brief  visit,  and  certainly  am  thank- 
ful for  the  cordial  hospitality  and  great  kindness  we  have 
received.  To  all  who  are  interested  in  the  great  aims  that  we 
have  been  discussing,  I  would  say — let  us  trust  in  God,  let  us 
maintain  our  self-respect,  let  us  seize  the  golden  opportunity  of 
to-day.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  E.  B.  Litchfield: — Mr.  President,  it  seems  to  me  that 
there  can  be  but  one  expression  of  opinion.  We  all  of  us  know 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  call  for  this  Convention,  and 
I  cannot  but  think  that  it  is  due  and  proper  to  mention  it.  I 
therefore  ask  the  Convention  to  pass  this  resolution  : — Resolved, 
that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be  tendered  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
S.  S.  Cutting,  for  the  proposition  of  calling  this  Convention, 
and  for  his  kind  services  and  watchfulness  of  its  interests. 

Dr.  Cutting  : — No,  sir.  I  protest  that  the  suggestion  of 
this  meeting  was  not  made  by  me,  but  by  a  Cutting  a  good 
deal  younger,  (Mr.  Churchill  H.  Cutting,)  and  that  I  have 
done  no  more  than  render  a  little  service  in  the  arrangements. 

The  resolution  was  seconded,  and  unanimously 
adopted. 

The  services  concluded  with  the  singing  of  the 
doxology. 


